Good Intentions
by Omili
Summary: Lucy needs the help of an S-Class mage to take on a particular mission, but the only one available at the time is Laxus. While on their mission, the two grow closer. NOT LaLu romance! Natsu/Lucy romance, Laxus and Lucy develop a sibling like relationship which the story focuses on most.
1. Chapter 1

Good Intentions

Genre: Family, Romance, Friendship, mild Drama, some Fluff

Pairings: Natsu/Lucy (others optional)

Main Characters: Laxus, Lucy, Natsu, other main Fairy Tail cast

Developing **sibling like** relationship/feelings between Laxus and Lucy

Additional summary: A well intended deed from an old friend may cause Lucy to lose everything and everyone she holds dear. Unless…

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

It was a regular day at the guild.

Levy sat at one of the tables in the back, her nose buried in a new book. Beside her was Gajeel, snacking on some metal scraps, and Lily, enjoying his glass of Kiwi juice.

Jet and Droy were at a table close by, sending the iron dragon slayer jealous glares. Not that the dark haired man noticed or cared.

Cana was located near the bar, drinking from her usual barrel of beer.

Macao and Wakaba sat with her, joking around about the good old times.

Other assorted members, currently not out on a mission, were similarly goofing around the guild hall, doing what they usually did.

Mirajane was happily tending the bar, while trying to cheer up Master Makarov, who sat across from her, a huge stack of papers piled in front of him.

The old man had been fighting with the paperwork for the council for hours now.

Why did being Guildmaster have to come with all this paperwork?

And why did it have to be so complicated?

His children caused a lot of chaos, he knew that. The council knew that. Hell, all of Fiore knew that!

Why, oh why was it necessary to put it down in such detailed writing? The damage reports he could handle – after about the fifty-sixth of those, one kinda got the hang of how to fill them out. But all these other ones were a pain in the ass!

Claims about the disturbance of peace, demands to explain and justify the need for excessive force, tax forms for the guild hall, the half yearly report for the magic council,… it was endless!

And everything was always so convoluted and complicated, not to mention laborious.

He missed the times when a Guildmaster could simply walk up to the council, take care of business and be done with it.

Now it was all bureaucracy this and paperwork that and 'please fill out form 28b'! And since he never got it right on the first try, the council would send even more paperwork to correct the mistakes made on the first batch, which – naturally - came with additional cost.

He felt like crying.

Despairing over another one of the never ending sheets of paper, he was momentarily startled when he heard the boisterous shout of Fairy Tails resident fire dragon slayer.

"We are back!"

"Welcome back!"

So, Team Natsu had returned from their mission. The Master felt a headache beginning to set in as he wondered about the damage his most destructive band of children had caused this time. More paperwork. More bills. He was really getting too old for this.

And he couldn't figure out this darn section in the tax report before him.

Did they mean for him to list the income of every one of his brats, or the accumulated money from missions? And if so, then did they mean all missions, or just the ones that had been successfully completed? Or just the S-Class missions?

His frustration finally got the better of him and the old man screamed, throwing his hands in the air.

"Aaargh! Why does this have to be so complicated?!"

Lucy, who had made her way up to the bar when she and the rest of her team had returned from their last job, (their pay cut once again because her friends forgot to hold back while fighting in the city and damaging houses, **again**!) nearly spilled her just received drink at the Guildmaster's outburst.

She looked at the short man, only a few seats beside her at the bar.

"Is something wrong Master?"

Mirajane, who stood between the two on the other side of the bar, smiled softly.

"Don't worry Lucy. Master is just having trouble with the paperwork for the council."

At that Makarov moaned pitifully.

"Paperwork for the council, paperwork for the city, paperwork for the guild… its endless. Why do I have to be tortured like this? Why?"

Then the short Fairy Tail master started banging his head against the bar's surface, further disarranging the papers before him. One of which fell to the floor. Seeing this, the blond celestial wizard stood and picked up the half filled out tax form from the ground, her eyes flitting over it.

"Master, this isn't right."

Makarov paused in his attempts to dent the wood of the bar with his head and stared questioningly at Lucy.

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes still on the paper, Lucy sat on the stool right beside the old man and began explaining.

"You made a mistake here, in fact, you made several."

She pointed to a certain part of the form in her hand.

"See, this section here deals with property, not people. And here you need to list off all resources that are used exclusively for the guild and its members. And what you wrote down there," then she quickly searched through the papers laying haphazardly around before them, grabbing one of them after a few seconds. "- actually is information needed for this form."

She looked at her Guildmaster, only to see him staring at her with huge, sparkling eyes.

"Lucy, my dear, could it be that you have experience with these… matters?"

There was an unmistakably hopeful tone to his voice. Lucy nodded.

"My father made sure I knew all about running a business, and, well, a guild isn't that much different. At least when it comes to the management side of things, like paperwork. If you like, I could go over some of these and see if I can find some ways to save on money. Rule number one when dealing with matters like this, there are always loopholes. At least that's what Father used to say."

Now Makarov's face held and expression of complete and utter awe and admiration. Tears of wonder were gathering in his eyes.

"Are you saying, you would actually do this paperwork for me?"

He looked at her like a puppy begging for a treat. Lucy nervously shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure, I mean, if that's ok. I can do this."

With that, Makarov could no longer keep himself in check.

"Lucy! You are an angel sent from above!"

And he launched himself right at her, snuggling his head into her bosom. The blond's face heated in embarrassment and anger, but before she could throw her perverted Master off, Mira quickly plucked him from her chest.

"Master, I'm gonna get angry!" She scolded.

But Makarov apparently didn't hear her, mumbling the words "no more paperwork" and "so soft" over and over.

Lucy resignedly shook her head over their Masters behaviour and returned her attention to the stack of papers in front of her.

"Better get started."

* * *

And so began Lucy's little part-time job as Fairy Tail's very own specialist for all things dealing with paperwork and Guild-Management.

The Master was at first just happy that he didn't have to wrestle his way through the nightmare that was bureaucracy anymore, but quickly became overjoyed when the city lowered the monthly cost for the Fairy Tail facilities, due to one of those little loopholes Lucy had mentioned.

He insisted that from then on, Lucy use his office whenever she did his paperwork, as she deserved some peace and quiet while helping him out.

Then he had to put Erza in charge of stopping Natsu from barging into his office whenever Lucy was working in there, after the first time the salmon haired dragon slayer had sniffed her out there and dragged her back down with him.

The old man shook his head amusedly as he looked down at all his children from his place at the banister of the second floor.

Team Natsu had undertaken two major and well paying missions this month, and somehow managed to cause only a minimal amount of damage. This had left Lucy, for once, with enough money for her rent and other necessities. Which was why she answered with a firm "No." when Natsu had attempted to take her on another mission shortly after the team made it back from their last one.

"But Luuuuuce! This mission sounds like its gonna be tons of fun! And we can do it without Erza and the pervy popsicle!"

Naturally, Gray – who was currently missing his shirt – had heard that remark and was in Natus's face only seconds later.

"What was that, Lizard boy?"

Natsu pressed right back.

"You heard me Ice Princess!"

"Wanna go Flame Brain?"

"Bring it on Frost Fart!"

Some punches and kicks later and half of the guild was involved in the brawl.

Makarov was contemplating if he should put a stop to it, when he saw the beautiful celestial mage approach him from the side.

"Lucy my dear, is there anything you need?"

She smiled at him.

"I was actually wondering if I could hide out in your office for a while. As soon as Erza is finished with her cake, she will probably stop the fight, and then Natsu is going to pester me about taking this job again. I'm afraid that he is gonna wear me down sooner or later, and after our last two missions, I was really hoping to catch a little break. I figure if I can evade him long enough, he might get distracted with something else and forget about the mission."

The Master suppressed a smirk. Ever since Lucy had started doing the guilds paperwork, she had a little less time for her fire breathing partner. Based on the many times Natsu tried to break into his office while she was in there and then – after being intercepted and pummeled by Erza – spent the rest of the time sulking until Lucy was finished with her work, Makarov could easily deduce that the dragon slayer was using the mission as an excuse to spend more time with the girl.

_/Ah, young love./_

He wondered when those two would finally get together. It couldn't be too much longer now.

Makarov knew that, despite popular believe, Natsu wasn't completely oblivious to his beautiful partners female charms, as well as his own ever growing feelings for her.

The way the Master saw it, the only reason those two weren't together already, was because of their closeness, as strange as that sounded.

Right now Natsu didn't crave a deeper relationship with Lucy, because they were together all the time anyway. They went on missions together, they hung out at the guild together, Natsu and Happy were over at her place all the time. Hell, if what Mirajane had told him earlier was right, the little moron even snuck into her bed and slept beside her from time to time.

Lucy was his partner and best friend. Natsu had pretty much secured his place in her life, and right now, having her close to him was all the dragon slayer needed.

Her constant availability to him was probably what kept him from maturing, in a way. Natsu may not be as dense as most believed him to be, but he was innocent when it came to matters of sexual desire. Which made sense to Makarov.

After all, Natsu had Lucy. They were closer to each other than anyone else in the guild. No one in Fairy Tail was a serious threat to his position in her life, so there was no need for Natsu to change their current relationship. To ingrain himself even deeper into her life.

Of course, the physical aspect would come in time.

Lucy was a desirable young woman and Natsu was a healthy and (however slowly) maturing young man, who would some day wake up to his feelings and carnal desires for her.

The old Master just feared that with the way things were going, it would be some time still until he would see these two openly expressing their love for each other.

And they did love each other, of that he had no doubt.

It was just a matter of realizing that there could be even more than what they already had. But that was something they both needed to do, because Lucy was just as bad as Natsu.

Actually, the blond might be even worse than her partner, Makarov thought.

While Natsu might be slow in waking up to his feelings and desires for her, as soon as he did, he would act on them. Makarov was certain that the destructive dragon slayer wasn't the type to waste time when it came to something he wanted, and as soon as he learned of the full extent of his want for his partner, he would do everything in his power to get her.

Lucy, on the other hand, would probably be far more reserved. She would obsess over 'what if' scenarios and all the possible ways that her feelings for him could change things and what all could go wrong. She would be battling fears of rejection, whenever not in a state of denial. And in-between those times, the pretty young woman would keep her feelings close to her chest, hidden from everyone else.

Because Natsu was someone who mostly acted without thinking and Lucy thought out every possible avenue before she acted. It was one of the reasons those two made such a good team. But in this singular circumstance, this difference between them made Natsu the one that needed to start off their romance.

"Master?"

Lucy's voice brought him out of his musings and made him look up at her questioning eyes. He realized she was still waiting for an answer and suddenly, an idea hit him. He smirked.

"Why, of course Lucy. Feel free to use my office to get a little break from your partner. In fact, I think after all the work you have been doing for me, you deserve a vacation. How do you feel about going away for a few days?"

Lucy blinked, beyond surprised at this sudden turn of events. She quickly waved her hand in front of herself.

"Oh, no, that's really not necessary, Master. I-" But the old man just jumped down from his perch, landing beside her, and started ushering her into the direction of his office.

"Nonsense child, everyone needs a little breather from time to time. And I know just the place for you to get away from the chaos for a bit."

"But Master, I don't-"

"Yes, yes. You will love it, I'm sure. Don't worry, I will just make a quick call and check if you can stay a few days. Do you want to leave tonight already?"

Lucy was trying to get the man to stop and listen to her.

"No Master, I don't want to leave for some vacation today!"

The old man nodded.

"Right you are, you will need at least a day to prepare and pack. So I will see if I can arrange your departure for tomorrow!"

They had at this point reached the Master's office and he happily gave the blond celestial wizard a little push into the room.

"That's not what I meant-" Lucy got no further as the door behind her closed and she heard the old mage's merry voice through the wood separating them.

"Don't worry Lucy, I will take care of everything. You just relax here for a bit and if Natsu starts asking for you, I will tell him you are helping me with matters concerning the guild."

Lucy wearily rubbed her forehead, sighing softly. She just wanted to avoid having to go on another mission, she didn't need a whole vacation!

_/Oh well, I probably won't be getting through to Master right now, so I might as well enjoy a little peace and quiet here and take a little nap. I will try and talk Master out of this later./_

Nodding to herself, Lucy walked to the comfortable couch in the big office and laid down to get an hour or two worth of shut-eye.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Makarov was rubbing his hands in glee. He had the perfect plan to help his two children and speed things up a bit.

Wasn't there a saying stating that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'?

And Natsu's recent behaviour indicated that the boy was getting closer to understanding that he wanted more than friendship from Lucy. The less time the girl spent with Natsu, the more possessive and clingy he got.

So, if Makarov arranged for Lucy to be gone for a few days, that would surly push the dragon slayer over the edge and force him to confront his feelings for her.

He cackled almost evilly as he made his way downstairs to look for the guilds communications lacrima.

_/Mira should know where it is./ _

* * *

When Lucy woke up an hour and a half later, she felt refreshed enough for round two of 'convince the Master to cancel whatever arrangements he made for my vacation'.

She got up and was out the door, ready to go looking for the little, old man, only to stop in her tracks when seeing who was sitting in the chair outside the office, usually occupied by Erza, and listening to the music from his lacrima-player.

"Oh, Laxus. What are you doing here?"

Upon noticing Lucy, the blond dragon slayer took off his earphones, hung them around his neck and shrugged his shoulders.

"Erza was needed for some kind of last minute mission and gramps didn't want the little idiot to barge into his office and disturb you. So I got guard duty."

The celestial mage sheepishly wrung her hands together.

"Sorry Laxus. I'm sure you had better things to do than babysit me."

He shrugged again.

"It's no big deal. Bix and Ever were kinda getting on my nerves anyway. And it's always fun to pound Natsu."

A slightly sadistic grin spread over the older blond's face and Lucy laughed nervously, averting her eyes. It wasn't that she was scared of Laxus. Ever since he had showed up on Tenrou island to help them and rejoined the guild, he had proven himself to be a true member of Fairy Tail. He wasn't the man he had been when she joined the guild all those years ago, she knew that and had long since forgiven him for his actions back then.

She didn't believe in grudges anyway. Holding on to them was way too tiring.

But the fact was that she didn't really know much about the man before her. They hardly ever interacted or spoke with each other and she was unsure of how to act in his presence. Since Laxus had rejoined the guild, she had come to see him as an honorable, loyal and powerful man, who she honestly admired. And she didn't want to say or do anything that might leave a bad impression with him.

Bad enough that he had been forced to sit in front of an office just so she could sleep undisturbed.

_/He probably thinks of me as a nuisance already./_

So while she was trying to come up with something to say that wouldn't make her sound like an imbecile, her gaze landed on the mission board for S-Class requests. And while she didn't even try to read any of the flyers up there, one word, or rather, a name, sprang out to her.

Eyes widening in recognition, she all but ran over to the board and ripped down the flyer.

Laxus watched curiously as the girl read over the mission request. He was surprised, to say the least. Lucy didn't strike him as the type who was interested in the more dangerous S-Class missions. Maybe the pink haired moron was rubbing off on her. It still seemed unlikely though. But on the other hand, what did he know? It wasn't like him and Lucy had spent any quality time together in the past to get to know each other.

Partly his fault, he admitted to himself.

Every time he saw the young celestial wizard, he was reminded of the time Phantom Lord had attacked Fairy Tail in order to kidnap her. And with that came the memory of his demand in exchange for his help. Not something he was proud of.

Her skittish behaviour around him didn't exactly ease his guilty conscience. He couldn't blame her for it, though. Unlike the others, she hadn't known him before his 'fall from grace', as he liked to call his behaviour back then. By the time Lucy joined Fairy Tail, Laxus had already been too deep in his downward spiral of anger, jealousy and an obsession for power for all the wrong reasons.

It stung a bit that she was able to forgive Juvia, who had kidnapped her, and Gajeel, who had beaten her during her captivity, with such ease, and yet she still wasn't comfortable in his own presence.

It was one of the reasons why he hadn't objected when his gramps asked him to guard his office in Erza's place. He was trying to make amends.

If he could just get her to stop being so damn nervous around him, maybe even get to know her a little.

He just needed an opportunity to spend a little time with her. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

He was pulled out of his inner musings when Lucy suddenly appeared right in front of him, the mission request she had been reading clutched tightly in her hand.

"Laxus, please go on this job with me!"

The man blinked, surprised.

_/Well, isn't that convenient./_

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

Alright, the new story is finally up. I'm really excited about writing this one and I hope you all will be equally excited about reading it.

Now for some fanfic recommendations:

- **A Summer Fairy Tail**, by Nardragon: Modern World AU. Natsu/Lucy pairing. Very humorous and romantic. Status: complete. Though there are some hiccups in with the grammar (sometimes the author forgets some words), the story is still decently written and over all very enjoyable. Apart from Lucy and Natsu, other pairings get their time to shine as well. Such as Gray and Juvia and Gajeel and Levy.

- **The Astrologist**, by NavyBlueWings: Also a modern world AU. Natsu/Lucy pairing. Status: ongoing. Instead of Mirajane, Lucy tries her hand at helping her fellow guildmates find love. With the help of her knowledge in not only psychology, but also astrology, she seems to be doing rather well. But what about her own chances at romance. The story hasn't progressed that much yet (plot-wise), but so far I can say that it is very well written and the characters are also pretty in-character here.

- **Fairy Academy**, by Biofawriter10: Another modern world AU, that has the gang in highschool. Natsu/Lucy pairing. Status: complete. What I liked about this story the most is the rather unique way the author made Natsu and Lucy realize their feelings for each other. Also much humor in this one. If you haven't read it yet, I urge you to give it a go.

- **Year of the Sun**, by jane3876: Pairing: Natsu/Lucy. Status: complete. Team Natsu comes across a dying older Dragon Slayer on their way to or from a mission and rescue his infant son out of a burning building. With his dying breath, the man make Natsu promise to take care of his son. Naturally, Lucy is there with him all the way. Very cute story of our two favourite mages taking their first steps into parenthood, while slowly realizing their feelings for each other.

- **Fairy Country Club**, by SpinalCoil: Pairing: Natsu/Lucy. Status: ongoing. Modern world AU. (I seem to be recommending a lot of those today…) I can't tell you too much about the story, because, to be honest, I don't know that much yet myself. But the layout so far is intriguing. The story gives neither too much, nor too little detail, so the reader can wonder about things without being confused. I also like they way the characters have been portrayed so far and I think it will turn out to be a great story.

Alright, that's it so far from me. Please feel free to offer up your own story rec's for everyone in a review. Oh, and of course your opinion on this chapter. :-)


	2. Chapter 2

This is the shortest chapter I have ever written, but it was either cut here, or have a much too long chapter. So I hope you aren't too disappointed. The next chapter shouldn't take me too long.

**Chapter 2**

„Natsu! Let me go!" demanded the blond haired girl while trying to dislodge the two muscular arms currently wrapped tightly around her waist. The more she wriggled against his grasp, the tighter Natsu held her, pressing her back against his front.

He growled. "No! You didn't want to go on a mission with me and now suddenly you are taking one with Laxus? And how come I can't come along? You're MY partner!"

Anger and frustration had made his voice rougher, with the occasional growls that vibrated through his chest. Due to her very close proximity to that very same chest, Lucy could feel the rumbles they created. She squirmed again in his arms, looking beseechingly at her friends and guildmates all around them, silently asking for help. But was disappointed when she was only met with smirking faces. Damn them all. The only people who would have possibly been sympathetic to her plight - Levy, Wendy and Erza, were currently out on missions. Levy with her two team mates and Erza had taken Wendy and Charle along. Even Happy had gone with them to be close to Charle, not that she thought the Exceed would have been any help. He would have most likely just flown around over their heads while rolling his tongue and saying "They lllliiiike each other!"

And apparently the rest of her so called friends thought that watching her trying to reason with Natsu was great entertainment.

Right now he was holding on to her so tightly her feet were barely touching the ground.

She knew Natsu would be upset about this, but she had hoped he would understand if she explained it to him carefully. Instead he had latched onto her when she stood from the table after their talk and refused to let go since.

Sighing impatiently, she tried once more to reason with him.

"Natsu, we have been over this. I need Laxus' help because it's an S-Class job-" She didn't get any farther as Natsu interrupted her.

"But you don't like going on S-Class jobs!"

Lucy was currently fighting down the urge to snap at him.

"Yes, I don't. But like I already told you, this one is different. The request was issued by the Layton family, they were friends of my parents. I was good friends with their daughter, before I ran away from home, anyway. If they are in trouble, I want to help."

Natsu shook his head, hugging her to him even more.

"Then why can't I come with you?!"

Lucy gasped at the tightening of his arms. Any more of that and she would have trouble breathing.

"Because Laxus said you can't! He is probably tired of you challenging him all the time!"

Well, his exact words had been: '_Alright, I'll take you on the job, but your moronic idiot of a partner and his cat are not coming with us! I'm not gonna do a job with that fire obsessed nut destroying the employees house and a cat flying around my head talking about fish!'_

Quite frankly, Lucy would rather have Natsu go with them as well. He always made her feel safe when he was with her and considering that this was an S-Class mission, she could really use some of that reassurance. Then there was also the fact that she still didn't quite know how to act around Laxus and having Natsu and Happy with them would have surely lightened the atmosphere.

But Laxus was doing her a favour, so the least she could do was to accommodate his wishes. Sadly, her partner didn't see it that way.

"Then fuck Laxus. Let's just go without him!"

Her eyebrow began twitching in annoyance.

"I can't go without Laxus, he is an S-Class wizard, who you need if you want to take on an S-Class job!"

"Then let's take Erza!"

"Erza isn't here right now and won't be back for the next few days. Apart from that, Laxus has already officially accepted the job. Right now he is probably on his way back from getting his things from his place to meet me here so that we can go to the train station!"

And thanks to her pink haired buffoon of a partner she was still at the guild, her travel bag still empty underneath her bed in her apartment and she was nowhere near ready to meet Laxus. Lucy groaned softly, she _so_ hadn't wanted to make a bad impression on the lightning dragon slayer.

Gray was thinking of stepping in and helping Lucy out. At first he and the others had been content to just watch as Lucy tried to break things to Natsu as gently as possible. After all, what could be more entertaining than watching the Flame Brain whine and cling to Fairy Tails one and only celestial spirit mage like his non existent sanity depended on it? But as funny as it had been, he didn't want Lucy to get in trouble with Laxus because he had to wait for her to get ready. The dark haired ice mage was just about to take a step forward when he saw a figure approaching behind the arguing couple.

Natsu stubbornly shook his head and buried it into Lucy's neck, while lifting her feet completely off the floor.

"I don't care! You are not going on a mission without me, even if I have to-" his words were abruptly cut off when a large fist hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out in one blow.

Landing back on her feet, Lucy heard Natsu's unconcious body slump to the floor behind her and quickly turned around. Shocked, she took a slight step back.

"L-Laxus!"

The blonde man, a knapsack slung over his shoulder, just looked at the girl before him and shrugged.

"I expected him to make trouble. I'm guessing you haven't been able to pack anything yet?"

Taken aback by his rather laid back attitude, Lucy simply nodded.

Laxus turned around, heading for the doors again.

"Then lets get to your place and to the station before the moron wakes up again. Our train leaves in about forty minutes, think you can be packed in that time?"

Quickly shaking herself out of her stupor, Lucy ran a little to catch up to the larger man.

"O-of course, that's plenty enough time. Thanks Laxus."

He shrugged again.

"Don't mention it. I told you, it's always fun to pound Natsu."

Unbeknownst to him, Lucy relaxed slightly. Laxus had reacted far calmer than she had expected. He didn't even seem angry that she wasn't prepared yet. Maybe traveling with him wouldn't be so bad.

And the two left the guild hall.

The rest of the Fairy Tail crew stood in an unusualy silence, processing what had just taken place. Gray was the first to move, using his foot to prod the unmoving form of his frenemy on the floor.

"So, what are we gonna do with him?"

* * *

The train ride was spent in silence, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. Apparently Laxus suffered from motion sickness as well, though his wasn't as severe as Natsu's and Gajeel's. Still, he told her before the train started to move that he would prefer to just close his eyes and listen to some music from his portable music lacrima. Lucy was completely fine with that. She had dreaded not knowing what to talk about with him during the three hours they would spend in the same compartment. Now though, she would have time to think about possible conversational topics for the two of them when they got off the train in Lirca, where the Layton estate stood.

Still, though, there was a nagging feeling in her gut that she had forgotten something.

* * *

Back at the guild, Master Makarov, laden down with a few books, papers, bags that probably held some very skimpy swim wear - if the shops label 'Wet Dreams' was anything to go on, and a huge grin made his way up to the bar. He decided to ignore the chained up and sulking pink haired dragon slayer slumped down against the wall next to it.

"Mirajane, would you happen to know if Lucy is still in my office, or if maybe she has made her way home already? Now, it wasn't easy to do this with such short notice, but I have taken care of everything concerning her little vacation and I got her some sweet stuff to boot!"

The takeover mage had a nervous grin on her face, as she set down the glass she had been cleaning and answered her Master.

"I'm sorry Master, but Lucy left for a job with Laxus a little over an hour ago. It should take them about three days."

Mirajane watched as one after one, the items the little old man was carrying fell to the floor, while his face lost its joyful expression. Then his lips formed into a small pout and he walked over to Natsu and sat down next to him. Both sulking. One because his partner was gone, and the other because it wasn't due to his genius planning.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

**Reviews:**

**Amyskywalker:**Thank you for the kind words and I'm with you, I think the two can make a very cute sibling pair. I do hope I will be able to write them well. This lenghts better? :-)

**Silly:**Thanks so much. I agree with you, there should be more fanfics that have the two bond in a brother/sister way. Many hint at such a relationship, but so far I have seen non that really write it out. I'm gonna attempt to do that here and I can only hope that I will do well. Hope you like this chapter as well, even though it is rather short.

**YamiHinata:** Well, not quite yet mission time, but they are getting closer. Thanks for the comment.

**Loulla:**Thank you. I hope you liked this chapter as well, though it didn't have much Laxus/Lucy interaction.

**alleycat1979:**Thank you very much for your rec, I'll be checking it out myself soon, as I'm sure others already have. I hope this chapter was to your liking as well.

**DaMastah101:**I'm glad you said the bit about the grammar, because english isn't my first language and I always fret about these things. Gotta find myself a beta-reader. Thank you for the review.

**Irelya:**Thank you. Hope you liked this one as well.

**Kyinue5356: **Thanks. To be honest I was a little worried about how I wrote the Master and Laxus, but so far no one has complained and your words have given me extra courage.

**Yua-hime: **I love you for the long review you worte me, thank you so much. Originally, I just needed a reason for Lucy to be up on the second floor to see the mission request. And I wanted to have some kind of believable built up for that and not just some half-cooked story implement to have her up there. But I think this worked out pretty good. With her love for all things literature and her upbringing, I can really see her to be well versed in the management side of things.

It's great that you are close to your brother, I'm afraid me and my own are rather estranged. Maybe because we are so far apart in age. But I plan to put the spot light mostly on scenes between Lucy and Laxus here, hopefully the romance between her and Natsu won't come too short with that, gonna have to watch out for that. Say, if you are comfortable sharing that kind of information, is your brother older or younger than you? Mine is younger, by the way, nearly 7 years.

Sadly I wasn't able to make any recommendations for this chapter, I have hardly had time to read anything myself in the last few days, but I'm glad you liked them. If you are looking for more, my other story: Fighting Fairies, has a few as well. I think I started at chapter 7 there... And there are some in the reviews made by other readers.

I know this chapter doesn't have much content, but I hope you liked it anyway. Next one will be longer. Thank you again for your detailed review. :-)


	3. Chapter 3

Alright, this chapter is not as long as I promised, but I think you will understand why I wanted this to stand alone after reading.

* * *

Chapter 3

* * *

Awkward. That was the only word Lucy could think of to describe her current situation.

Laxus and her were on their way to the Layton family home - which was a good ways away from the train station. And once again, silence reigned between the pair. And this time it was definitely an uncomfortable one.

The pretty celestial mage grimaced as she recalled how she had botched it all up. Three hours worth of thinking about all the things she could talk about with the older mage, that would not lead him to think that she was A: an air head, B: boring, or C: weird, and what had she come up with?

"Hey Laxus, do you mind telling me about your mother?"

_/Stupid Lucy! Of course he minds!/_

It was a far too personal question and might have even brought up some unpleasant memories.

_/Why did I even come up with this? Oh, right. Because I was curious about his family aside from Master, but didn't want to bring up his father. Really, what the hell was I thinking? He must be mad, he hasn't even said a word since I asked that stupid question. Damn, damn, damn!/_

While Lucy was beating herself up mentally, Laxus was in a surprisingly similar state.

_/Why did she have to ask that question? The one thing I don't have much to say about. What the hell am I supposed to answer? That all I know about her is her name?/_

That probably wouldn't go over well with Lucy. Everyone in the guild knew how very dear the young woman held the memory of her deceased mother. Telling her that he himself had never bothered to learn anything about the woman who had given live to him surely wouldn't raise her opinion of him.

He wasn't even sure why he had never made inquiries about his mother. As a child, his gramps had filled the role of his parents, and as an angry teenager and young adult, his thoughts had been otherwise occupied.

Now that he thought about it, maybe he should ask his gramps about the woman that had married Ivan Dreyar. There had always been a part of him, albeit a small one, that had been curious about his origins. Sadly, the resolve to talk to his old man did nothing to improve his situation right now.

The blonde girl beside him looked more and more nervous, most likely misreading his silence to her previous question and thinking she had offended him, when the truth was that he was trying not to look like a jerk in her eyes.

So, in hopes of getting a conversation going, he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Nice weather we are having, right?"

He wanted to kick himself. 'Nice weather we are having'?! What was he, a senile old man that didn't have any other concerns than to talk about the freaking weather?

_/Idiot!/_

Fortunately however, Lucy latched on to it like a drowning person would to a straw.

"Yes, we are really lucky. The last few days have been a little dreary. And this city is pretty nice. Have you been here before?"

Laxus shook his head. "No, first time. It's okay, I guess. Seen better, seen worse, at least it has a decent road, not that cobblestone crap most have."

He bit his tongue as soon as he said that. Really? First the weather, and now he was talking about the quality of the road? What the hell was wrong with him?

"Yeah, it's nice. Really... smooth." Lucy agreed. And then, silence once more.

What was it that made it so damn hard to talk to the girl? It wasn't like he was some little boy with a crush! Yeah she was sexy as fuck, but despite him saying that he would help in exchange for her being his girl, back when Phantom Lord attacked, he didn't think of her like that. Which was strange, because he usually thought of all hot women like that. That abnormality aside, it simply shouldn't be so freaking difficult to be around Lucy. So why the hell was it so? A subtle glance to his right showed the celestial wizard walking along side him. She was wringing her hands again, like she had done when she found him sitting before the office. He caught small instances where it looked like she was about to say something, then apparently thought better of it, and closed her mouth again. Why? Why was she so skittish around him? God dammit she had forgiven that bitch Flare for what she did at the Grand Magic Games, then why couldn't she forgive him as well? It was so fucking frustrating.

He was about to say something, when he saw Lucy drawing slightly nearer to him, her arms - probably without her realizing it - winding around her exposed stomach, her eyes averted from the group of men they had just passed.

Even though he had been pretty deep into his own thoughts, he had heard the quiet comments and seen the leering gazes they threw Lucy's way.

It wasn't like they were the first, either. As he had reminded himself before, Lucy was a sexy young woman, who attracted her fair share of - often lustful - gazes. It was neither surprising nor uncommon and it wasn't like she tried to hide her curvaceous body from view. Surely, she was used to this, so why was she acting so shy now?

He remembered some scenes at the guild, when some of the guys had been a little more lecherous than usual and how she had always blushed a deep red, stuttered and then beat a hasty retreat. As well as her continued shyness around a repeatedly naked Gray, even though she really should be used to the sight by now. Then the many times he overheard the women of the guild corner her and try to coax a confession - regarding the state of her relationship with the little moron - out of her. Granted, some of them, a.k.a. Cana, could be rather crass with words, but Lucy's reaction to anything even suggestively sexual bordered on prudish.

He didn't get it. He didn't get HER. And it was so damn frustrating! Again he saw her cringe when some guys wolf-whistled after her and he decided he had had it.

"I don't get you!"

Lucy visibly flinched beside him, looking up with a questioning gaze.

"What?"

Laxus was drawing in a deep breath, trying to calm down a little. After all, he wanted to understand her, not scare her.

"I don't get you. All I have ever seen you wear are clothes that accentuate your figure, show off your curves and a fair amount of skin. Yet, you are obviously not comfortable with the attention you receive because of that. So why the hell do you dress like this?"

Lucy tried to look indignant, but a little blush stole over her cheeks.

"It's not like I wear these clothes to have men drooling after me."

Laxus snorted in disbelieve. "Try again."

Lucy huffed. "Okay. I admit, saying that all the male attention I get isn't a nice ego boost would be a lie. But that's still not the reason why I like this kind of clothes so much."

Still unconvinced, Laxus raised an eyebrow. "So, what is it?"

He was a little startled when she looked to the side, averting his gaze, an unsure tone underlying her words.

"You will think it's stupid."

She was wringing her hands again.

"Let me be the judge of that."

He tried looking at her directly, but she still avoided his eyes, even though they had come to a stop now.

"It's a long story."

And one she clearly was hesitant to share. Still, the older blond somehow knew that this piece of information would be a huge step in getting to know and understand the girl. He softened his voice some, hoping to coax it out of her.

"We have time. The house is still about fifteen minutes away."

Ever so slowly, Lucy nodded and resumed walking again, Laxus right beside her. She sighed.

"You remember about my family, right? I mean, besides Fairy Tail."

Laxus nodded, thinking back to the man, her father, who had started all the drama back then.

"The Heartfilia Family. You used to be one of the richest people in Fiore."

Lucy nodded slightly, going on. "The Heartfilia line is actually one of the few remaining families of noble blood. Our riches came from father's company, but mother was the one of noble heritage. Even though father made more money, when they married he took on her name. The Heartfilia title, the money, the property, the social status... all these things brought with them certain rules."

There was a far off look in her eyes as she spoke.

"One of the first things my father taught me was that as a Heartfilia, I have a higher standing than most other people, which is why I had to be careful of how I acted in public. Who I associated with. What I said. How I said it. The way I moved, the expressions I made. There was a rule for everything. 'Don't run, it is undignified.' 'Don't smile too wide, only people without any pride have reason for making such ridiculous faces.' 'Never get too close to anyone, what you share with them might be used against you.' 'Always walk with your back straight and your head held high, only fools need to look down and watch their step.' 'Never look anyone directly in the eyes, such familiarity is reserved only for people deserving of our status.' Never do this, never do that... I felt like a stranger in my own body. Never able to act in a way I wanted to. Always reminding myself of the rules my status imposed on me for even the simplest of things."

Suddenly she looked up at him. "Did you know the nobles even have a rule for how to hold a fork?"

Laxus blinked, finding the very notion ridiculous. But Lucy picked up her story before he could comment.

"And of course, the clothes. 'An eligible woman of high status may **never** bare her skin for anyone to see like some common wench'."

The lightning mage had to bite back a chuckle at the way she had just pinched her nose to give her voice that nasal quality when she spoke. Probably an imitation to whoever had taught her that crazy line.

"All I ever owned were dresses and all those dresses were strictly of one style. Long sleeves up to the wrists, from which my hands were covered by gloves. The skirts reached down to exactly a half an inch above the shoes. A high neckline, often reaching up to under my chin, adorned with a choker. And, of course, a tight corset that was supposed to help keep my posture straight. Even my nightgowns were like this, minus the corset and choker. I swear, the only times I saw my own skin were in the few moments it took to change - always with assistance, of course - and when I bathed. Not even my hair was left to be free. 'A Lady always wears her hair in a respectable fashion.' "

Again the nasal voice, this time though Laxus didn't find it half as funny. So far the life she had lived sounded like nothing he had imagined. How often had he asked himself why a young girl like her would run away from being - for all intents and purposes - a princess? It seemed he was getting his answer now.

"That usually meant twisting it into a tight bun. It often gave me a headache. Whenever I looked into a mirror, I felt like it was all suffocating me. In the few instances when I wasn't under the scrutiny of either my father or our servants, I would try to loosen my collar, or roll up my sleeves. Once I lifted up my skirt to right under my knees, with the ridiculous thought that it would somehow help me breathe." Lucy giggled slightly at the memory. "Naturally I got caught by my debutant and was heavily reprimanded. When I finally ran away from home, I was - logically - in one of my suffocating dresses."

Again she looked at him, this time with a smirk on her lips. "You wouldn't believe how hard it is to climb over a wall in one of those!"

Well, he sure as hell wasn't going to try, though the mental picture was an amusing one.

"Anyway, when I had made it into the nearest town, everyone was staring at me, and I knew that I needed to buy new clothes if I didn't want to be recognized and sent back to my father immediately. So I practically sprinted into the next shop, randomly grabbed some clothes, paid for them and went into a cabin to change. It was only when I was putting them on that I realized that I had grabbed some rather revealing clothes. A sleeveless top with a deep neckline and a pair of shorts that didn't even graze my knees. At first, I was mortified. Anything I had ever worn from the age of six had covered up every piece of skin from my neck down. And there I was, standing in a small cabin, wearing clothes that showed far more skin than any girl of noble heritage could ever be allowed to reveal."

There was this far off look in her eyes again, this time though, it was not anywhere near as melancholy as the first one.

She was smiling.

"It was scandalous. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and saw pale white arms and legs that hadn't seen the sun in years. My throat that was free of its usual choker. The bared skin over that deep neckline, right up to the beginning of my breasts, before the outrageously revealing top covered them up. And then I took a deep breath."

At this point, she actually did take a deep breath. Her voice had gotten an almost dreamy sound to it.

"There was no corset pressing on my ribcage. I stepped out of the cabin and there was no long, heavy skirt constricting my movements. I went outside and could feel a fresh breeze against my legs and the warm rays of the sun on my arms. I stood there, I don't even know for how long. Just breathing."

And just like she must have back then, Lucy stood still in the street, her arms slightly lifted from her body, head tilted upward, like she was trying to embrace the air rushing through her lungs, the wind blowing on her skin and the sun warming her flesh. Laxus just stared at her, only able to guess how this must have felt to her back then. After a few seconds more of this, Lucy seemingly caught herself and shook her head to get rid of the memory for now and quickly, slightly embarrassed for getting so caught up in her story, resumed walking.

"That was the first time that I felt free. Truly free. And it was all because of those outrageously scandalous clothes."

She laughed again, looking down at her attire.

"I guess these kind of clothes bring with them their own kinds of expectations, but for me, they are the embodiment of my freedom. I'm reminded of that with ever breath I take. And I won't give that up. For no one. Even if that means living with lecherous gazes and crude comments. That's a small price to pay and it's not like I have to lieve up to their expectations."

Then Lucy again looked up at the tall man next to her and, suddenly self conscious, quickly turned her eyes to the ground, rubbing the back or her neck with one hand.

"I told you it's stupid."

She was startled when a big hand landed on her head and softly ruffled her hair.

"No. It's not stupid at all."

He had been right. This story had been a huge step in understanding and getting to know Lucy better, and he would be damned if he didn't make use of it.

After Lucy had gotten over her embarrassment over his affectionate gesture, the two continued their way in a lighter mood, talking about random and unimportant things, but with a smile on both of their faces. And if any of the men around, who felt the need to voice their opinion on Lucy's figure, ended up being shocked by stray lightning,... well. As Laxus had said before, it was some nice weather they were having.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

Reviews:

**Natsuandlucy4ever**: Thanks for your kind words, I also always enjoy some sibling interaction between my fav characters, though I don't mind the romance stories with Laxus and Lucy as a couple. I do like Natsu a little more for Lucy though. Thanks for the review.

**PandaGirl:** Yes, I hoped to do this with Natsu for a long time now and I'm glad to finally have gotten the opportunity. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment.

**Yua-hime:** Another long review. I love you! Then you and your brother are pretty close in age, it must have been nice to grow up together like this. Yes, I saw the episode and know exactly what you mean. it was hilarious. Glad you liked possessive Natsu, cause aside from the brother sister relationship between Laxus and Lucy, we will get to see some more possessiveness from Natsu as well. Thanks once again for the comment.

**SpinalCoil: **That is exactly what I was going for, so I'm really glad you think that way. I hope this chapter was to your liking as well, as it showed some of the beginnings of the developing closeness between Laxus and Lucy. Thanks so much for the comment.

**amyskywalker: **I haven't really planned out a girlfriend for Laxus, but I guess it can be easily written in. It would most probably be Cana, unless you know someone more suitable? Thanks for the comment.

**YamiHinata:** Well, then I hope this slightly longer one also pleased you. :-) Thanks for the comment.

**general zargon:** Yeah, I really rushed the last chapter a little. Sorry. But glad you still liked it. Could you point out the typos to me? I'm not a native and have sometimes trouble finding them. If you tell me where they are, I can correct them. Really have to find myself a beta reader. Thanks for the comment.

**Skyda:** As you wish. :-) Thanks for the comment.

**mangalover26:** If you like LaLu, you should read: The Dance Party, by Luffyfan. I love that fic. Glad you enjoyed the story non the less, and yes, the story will mostly focus on the interaction between Laxus and Lucy. Thanks for the comment.

**Liani:** Glad you liked it, though this chapter wasn't as funny, I will try to work a little more humour in in the future. Thanks for the comment.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

With his scarf securely wrapped around his head like a ninja mask, Natsu stealthily made his way to the bar. He checked his surroundings warily while flattened against the wall, not wanting to risk getting caught again.

_/It's the perfect time now. Erza is still out on her mission with Wendy, Charle and Happy. The pervert popsicle is being cornered by his stalker. Metal head is strumming his guitar in the corner for what he calls a performance, but we all know is just another torture session. Mira is distracted with cheering up Freed because Laxus left on a mission without telling him and gramps is up in his office. No one will stop me now from getting my hands on the mission log book. Then I'm gonna find out where the mission is that Lucy took – and stupid Laxus said I couldn't come along – and 'bam', I'm right there with her. Like a ninja! HA! Take that you lightning spouting jerk!/_

He was close now. A quick look around revealed that no one had noticed his presence pressed against the wall, so he took his chance and dove behind the bar counter. Fortunately the usual chatter and noise around the guild drowned out his rather hard landing on the floor. He looked up, his eyes darting right and left through his self made ninja mask.

_/Good, Mira is still with Freed. I just need to stay down and sneak to the cabinet behind her. Nin-nin!/_

The pink haired dragon slayer and part-time ninja got on all fours and oh so slowly made his way to the little wooden cabinet that was underneath the bar counter. It was quite dangerous, as the oldest Strauss was fairly close to it, but she still had her back turned to him, petting a depressed Freed's head, so Natsu decided to risk it.

He was so close now. Just a little more. Nearly in touching distance. So very close.

He was right before the cabinet!

Now all he needed to do was reach out his hand, turn the knob, get the book and open the right page! Piece of cake!

_/Just wait for me Luce, I will be with you before you know it! And then I'm gonna make her buy me dinner to make up for going without me! After I kick Laxus ass for knocking me out and saying I couldn't come in the first place! Yeah!/_

He was just about to grab the knob when a soft, delicate hand closed around his wrist.

"Natsu."

The sweet voice of the barmaid the hand belonged to made him shudder. He looked up into the deceivingly smiling face and gulped.

"H-hey Mira!"

The woman smiled wider.

"What are you doing down there, Natsu?"

Was it just his imagination or had her eyes just gotten darker?

"Nothing! Y-you know, just, uhm, looking for something."

She was still holding onto his wrist and he felt as if her nails were growing.

"Oh? What are you looking for? It wouldn't happen to be something in this cabinet, would it?"

Okay, there was definitely a threatening tone to her voice now. Sweat was pouring down the young man's back as he vehemently shook his head and stood up.

"Yes, - I mean NO! Of course not! I don't even know what's in there and what would I do with the stupid mission log book anyway? Lucy is the one who likes books, not me. I-I mean, is **that** where the log book is?! I didn't know that! Not like I was searching for it or anything! I was looking for… for… THIS! Yes! I was looking for this mug, because… because… because the stupid icicle wanted it! Yeah! And now that I have it, I'm gonna go give it to him! So, see ya!"

And with that he was gone, leaving behind an amused Mirajane and snickering Freed.

"Lying really isn't his forte."

Mira shook her head.

"I'm kinda curious what he is going to do with the mug now."

Her question was answered not a second later when Gray's shout echoed through the guild hall.

"What the hell Flame brain?! Did you just throw that mug at my head?! Now you're gonna get it!"

"Oh yeah? Bring it on!"

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

It was awkward again. This wasn't fair. They had been fine on their way to the mansion, talking about mundane things. So how was it that now, after they had been let in and asked to wait for the lord of the house in one of the many great and expensively furnished rooms, it was awkward again?

Lucy wanted to bury her head in her hands when she remembered. She had blown it again.

A few minutes earlier.

"…and because his weird fixation with the revolving doors triggered Natsu's motion sickness, he threw up on our client. The man was so enraged about this that he cut our reward even more. Really, just once I would like to go on a job and receive the full payment."

She sighed so forlornly when she said that, that Laxus couldn't help but snicker.

"Well, since I don't plan on throwing up on anyone or destroy anything, you just might get lucky with this one."

For a moment Lucy had an almost dreamy look on her face, but then quickly shook her head.

"No, no. This is an S-Class mission. I might not even be able to help you. It wouldn't be fair for me to demand equal pay."

Laxus just shrugged.

"The flyer didn't say much about the mission, just that an ancient book was involved. Lets first see what this is all about, before we rule out your contribution to this completely."

Even if it turned out that Lucy was right and wouldn't be able to help much, Laxus wasn't going to let her go without pay. It wasn't like he was doing this for the money anyways.

Lucy was happy that the older blond didn't just automatically write her off as useless. Though she really wouldn't have held it against him if he had. She knew what she could and couldn't do and an S-Class mission was definitely beyond her limits. If this wasn't related to the Layton's, she wouldn't even be here right now. Still, it was nice that Laxus planned to let her be part of it. She had just opened her mouth to tell him as much, when they stopped in front of a large iron gate.

They had to look up to see the huge mansion behind that gate. Laxus whistled softly.

"Damn. So, this is it?"

He glanced at the young woman beside him who nodded.

"Yeah, this is the Layton family estate. It looks just like I remember."

Now that she was here, Lucy began to feel slight apprehension. Without conscious thought, she began picking on her clothes, straightening them out the best she could. It didn't escape Laxus' notice though.

"Nervous?"

Startled, she looked up at him, about to deny his suspicion when, instead, she sighed and nodded.

"I haven't seen or talked to Mr. And Mrs. Layton or Celia, their daughter, since I joined Fairy Tail. If you count the time we were stuck on Tenrou island, it's been even longer. I don't even know if they will recognize me."

Hoping to reassure the girl, Laxus softly bumped her shoulder with his elbow.

"Chin up. If they don't recognize you, you just introduce yourself again. Nothing to be worried about."

Lucy smiled. "Thanks Laxus, you are right. I'm really looking forward to seeing Celia again."

The lightning dragon slayer felt like patting himself on the back for a job well done. Lucy may not be as comfortable with him as she was with most others in the guild, but at least she no longer gave the impression of bolting as soon as he made any sudden movements.

And he had kinda comforted her a little just now. That's what he called progress.

Pretty satisfied with himself, he stuck out a hand to open the gate before them, only to have Lucy suddenly shout "No Laxus wait!" , right before he was zapped by some kind of magical current. He quickly retracted his hand, shaking it a little to get the stinging to stop.

"What the hell was that?!"

Lucy beside him cringed.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you sooner, I didn't think of it. I'm so sorry."

She had taken a step back, was looking literally anywhere but him, and started wringing her hands again. Laxus cursed mentally.

_/God dammit! Now she's all nervous again! What the hell happened to my fucking progress?!/_

Angry with the way things had turned, he sent the gate a dark look.

"What just happened?"

"The lacrima system detected the magic in your body and reacted. I'm so sorry, I completely forgot about this until just now."

Looking over to the young woman, Laxus grimaced.

_/Great, she looks like she is expecting me to yell at her. Fucking shit!/_

Taking a deep breath to calm himself – and hopefully her – Laxus tried to rid himself of his irritation.

"It's alright. It doesn't even hurt, just took me by surprise. Now, mind explaining to me about this system?"

Apparently his calm demeanor paid off as Lucy relaxed a little. Though she didn't come any closer to him, she at least wasn't avoiding eye contact any more.

"This is a special security system that many noble families have installed."

"The Layton's are nobility?"

Lucy blinked at him questioningly. "Of course. Didn't I mention that before?"

"No, You said they were old family friends, nothing more. Now that I think about it, the job request didn't say anything about their status either."

Now even more ashamed of herself for forgetting not only about the security system, but also about cluing her temporary partner in sooner, Lucy nervously rubbed the back of her neck.

"Oh, s-sorry again." _/God, he must think I'm such an airhead. Idiot idiot idiot!/ _

Laxus sighed.

"Lucy, it's alright, don't worry. Look, I know you didn't forget on purpose and nothing happened. Just calm down and tell me about this security crap. Are we supposed to just wait here until someone notices us?"

The pretty blond felt immensely better after Laxus words and took a step forward again.

"No. The thing with the gate is actually very easy. The energy that just zapped you is a protective measure to ward off magical attacks. It stretches all around the property. What you just got was kind of a warning shot. There are two specific code phrases to deactivate the energy field temporarily and gain entrance. The Layton's set one phrase for people to gain entrance, but remain unable to use their magic while inside the barrier, and another that allows the use of magic while on the property for a few hours. It's not completely fool proof. A skilled rune mage like Freed might be able to decode or get around the barrier and a powerful mage – like you for example – could probably break through if they set their mind to it. But as far as I know, it is the best security system money can buy.

Back then father wanted to get one for our home, but mother was against it. Apparently there is no way to exclude certain people from the magic suppressing energy and mother didn't want to have to use the code phrase every few hours just to be able to use her keys. And since she knew that my own magical ability was growing as well, she didn't want me to b uncomfortable in our own home."

Laxus understood what she meant. Even though they were currently outside of the barrier, he could feel it pressing down on his magic. It made him feel like something was burdening him down, restricting him. Now that he knew it was there, it was strange that he hadn't felt it sooner. Either this barrier was designed to not be detected until first contact, or he had been so distracted with his thoughts that he simply hadn't noticed. Whatever the reason though, he didn't like it.

"So, you know one of those codes?"

Lucy nodded.

"Yes, both actually. Well, as long as they haven't changed them anyway. Okay, here goes."

But before she said anything, she turned to her companion, a blush on her face.

"Don't laugh."

Now he was curious and listened closely as Lucy spoke.

"Pixies here and pixies there,

flying, dancing everywhere.

Pixies left and pixies right,

I will dance all day and night."

Laxus could immediately feel how the barrier's pressure on his magic vanished, but instead of a relieved sigh, he was trying hard to suppress the smirk that was trying to stretch over his face.

He wasn't very successful if Lucy's pout was anything to go by.

"I told you not to laugh. Mr Layton couldn't think of a phrase that would be hard to figure out, so he asked Celia and me. And this used to be my favourite rhyme."

She was as red as a tomato and Laxus couldn't keep the snickers in.

"So **you** came up with that?"

Oh, this was just too good. Who knew the girl could be so cute. She had even done a little hopping move at the last sentence. Lucy stomped her foot beside the laughing wizard, her arms crossed underneath her bust.

"Shut up, I was five!"

This was so embarrassing. Damn her childhood obsession with pixies!

The second generation dragon slayer stifled his laughter, after all, if anymore blood shot to Lucy's head, she would probably faint. He couldn't kill off the wide grin as he turned to her, however.

"I gotta admit, it's a damn good security code. No thief of dark mage is ever going to guess this one."

He stretched out his arm and pushed against the gate, this time opening it without a problem. And though he had told himself not to make fun of her, Laxus just couldn't keep the comment in.

"After you, Pixie."

She huffed, blushing furiously from the new nickname, and stormed in, all her insecurities and shyness around the older mage momentarily forgotten in favour of her embarrassment.

They had been let in by the head butler, after identifying themselves as the hired mages of Fairy Tail, and been escorted to the lounge to wait for the master of the house. After they declined the offer of a beverage, the old butler left them in search of Mr Layton.

And since Laxus kept snickering every time he looked at Lucy, the celestial spirit mage had tried her hand at conversation again, in hopes of making Laxus forget about her humiliating little pixie rhyme.

"So, do you have a favourite author? I for one love the work of Kemu Sabe. He really knows how to write out a scene and set the atmosphere. And his characters are always so believable. And then there is Saya Rakesh, her romance novels are just amazing. The way she can describe the characters emotions so well, it's like you are falling in love along with the protagonists. And no one is versed as well in suspense as Carriel Stern. I get goosebumps every time I read one of his works."

Realizing she had let her excitement get the best of her, Lucy abruptly stopped her gushing fest and looked over to Laxus, who was sitting on a comfortable chair next to the love seat she was on. The older blond shrugged.

"I'm not really the reader type. That's more Freed's thing."

"Oh, uhm, what do you like to do in your free time then? Any hobbies?"

"Nothing in particular. Just hanging around the guild, going on jobs…"

Seeing disappointed brown eyes and feeling how the formerly relaxed atmosphere around them was slowly dissipating, Laxus racked his brain for something he could say that would keep their conversation going.

"Playing cards. I like poker. It can be pretty challenging to figure out whether or not your opponents are bluffing. Its fun to create a new strategy for every round, you know?"

Now it was Lucy's turn to shrug her shoulders apologetically.

"Not really, I never played poker. I was never really interested before, but it sounds like fun, I guess."

And this was how they had gotten to their current, once again, uncomfortable and awkward state of non communication. Lucy wanted to 'Lucy-kick' herself. This was so her fault.

_/I probably bored him with all my fan-girling over books. Natsu and Happy were right, I really talk too much. Maybe I should have asked him more about card games, but that might have just irritated him. Maybe he just doesn't like talking so much, he seems like the silent type… God, I hope I didn't get on his nerves before!/_

Things weren't much better with Laxus.

_/Fantastic. Just fucking fantastic. The great Laxus Dreyar can't even keep up a normal conversation with a guild member. God damn shit. I couldn't have said something about literature? Freed is always nagging me about his precious books and shit, didn't any of that stick with me? Maybe I should start actually listening to him when he talks… Damn./_

Both of them let out a silent sigh of relief when the door opened and a young man in a tailored suit stepped into the room.

"Ah, you must be the wizards of Fairy Tail. Please pardon the wait, but I had some urgent business to attend to."

Long elegant strides carried the young man over to the two waiting mages, his hand already lifted to offer a handshake.

Laxus stood, about to greet their employer, when Lucy's words halted him.

"Who are you?"

* * *

to be continued

* * *

That damn pixie rhyme took me three days to come up with! And all for the sake of a pet name... damn. Oh well.

As always, if anyone wants to use anything they read in one of my stories for their own fanfic, please help yourself. (Unless you plan on being mean to Lucy. Don't be mean to Lucy)

Reviews:

**KanaeHitomi:** Thank you. Well, the bond between Laxus and Lucy is developing rather slowly right now, but develop it will. And as for Natsu,... well, you read what happened with him. Poor guy. Wonder what else he is gonna get up to. I'm glad you like the story thus far and hope you will continue to like it.

**xXxSatasixXx:** You make me blush. Thank you so much. I have to admit I'm rather proud of myself for that little bit about Lucy's clothes and I'm so fucking glad that it has received such a good response from everyone so far. Even though I took some liberties with it. Thank you for praising my writing, I just hope I can keep it up.

**YamiHinata:** Actually I'm pretty sure its fanservice, but that's the great thing about writing fanfictions. You can twist things to your liking. :-) Thanks for the review.

**Yua-Hime:** Have I told you yet that I love your reviews? I really do. Thank you so much. That little thing with Lucy's clothes is actually what prompted me to write this fiction. Because as you (and Gray when copied by Gemini: More naive than she appears.) have said, her clothing style and behaviour some of the time don't add up. And then this just came to me. Then I thought about bringing this up in a context, then I thought about the most likely and at the same time most unlikely person Lucy could talk to about it, then I needed to create a situation which would force this conversation and well, things kinda went from there. You know, how fics can get started due to the silliest idea sometimes... And yeah, I thought it would be better to have them act a little awkward with each other in the beginning (well, and now still. hihi) They are just getting to know each other after all. Though this here is once again a chapter without much happening, things will soon be at a point where the story starts to flow. I hope you liked it never the less. Thank you again for your kind words.

**natsuandlucy4ever:** Yes, I would also enjoy it if something like this happened in the manga. I mean it was great how Laxus took revenge for Lucy in the GMG against Flare, but they are still basically strangers. I would love some more interaction. I had always kinda hoped they could bond about their father-issues, but I don't think the mangaka is planning to do any such thing. Not that I will let this stop me of course. :-) Thanks for the review.

**goichi:** Though an intriguing pairing, I kinda have a thing for Mira and Freed. I also think Cana would make an interesting older sister figure for Lucy if she dates Laxus. But the romantic pairings aren't really the focus of this story, so nothing has been decided yet. Thank you for your comment and interest in the story.

**Lectori Salutem:**Thats an interesting username you have. Is there a special story behind it? And don't worry, as you can see, they are still not really all that comfortable with each other and still have some more bonding to do. The easy camaraderie from before was mostly due to the casual topics of conversation and the need to loosen up after Lucy's tense confession about her past. Thanks for mentioning the last lines of the chapter, I was rather proud of those. :-)

**GoldenRoseTanya:** I agree, fics like this one are indeed a rarity, which I find really sad. It's a lot of fun to write and I love reading about sibling like bonds and relationships. I really hope that maybe some people will get inspired by this and write similar fanfics. Then I would get to read some too. :-) Thanks for the comment.

**Deathsembrace137:** I think its great that you want to read the fic even though the implied romantic pairing isn't your favourite. And don't worry, the story focuses on Lucy and Laxus the most, even though their affections for another will be purely sibling like. I have already planned out two (what I hope will be) really cute scenes between them, and I think there are more to follow - the plotbunnies for this story haunt my dreams. Thanks for the review.

**crazy and random** child: Thanks for your kind words. I just hope I can keep it up. It's rather slow going at the moment.

**amyskywalker:** Well, the first part of the chapter should have answered your question about Natsu. Poor thing, I'm really starting to feel sorry for him. Just stay tuned, I know right now there isn't much progress with Laxus and Lucy, but it will come, I promise. Thanks for the comment.

**SpinalCoil:** Thank you so much. Your words really uplifted my spirit. I'm so glad that the little background story about Lucy has been received so well by everyone so far. And yes, Laxus is really trying hard, he is just not used to it. I think it's funny how they are both so insecure with this. Though for different reasons. Progress is slow right now, but it will pick up in time. Those two are going to learn more and more about each other and grow very fond of each other. In time. Right now, it's still a bit awkward. :-)

**mangalover26:** Yeah, I took some liberties with Lucy's past. I'm pretty sure her clothing in the manga and anime is more due to fanservice than any association with personal freedom. It's also unlikely that Lucy is of nobility. But, it works for the story and I thought it was a nice new twist, you know? And the noble blood thing will be something really important later on in the story. :-) Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Thanks for the comment.

**Llaelien:** I don't think I would call it a betrayal. I mean Lucy originally wanted Natsu to come, but she didn't want to force his company on Laxus. And it's not like she just up and left, she talked to Natsu and explained things to him. Though Natsu being upset about it is understandable, Lucy didn't do it to spite him or anything. Thank you for your review.

**allycat1979:** We are getting there. Slowly, but we are definitely getting there. Glad you liked it so far. More bonding time to come in future chapters. Thank you for your comment.

**Liani:** Well, the thing with the Layton's reaction to Lucy's clothes just got a little more complicated. :-) Don't you just love story twists? :-) Really wondering how things will progress from here... wait, I'm the author,... I should know this... shit. *drop* Thanks for your comment.

**dave-in-excile:** Thank you. I was really fretting about characterisation in the last chapter. I mean, with a fanfic there is usually always a little bit of out of character behaviour involved, as no one knows the characters like their creator himself does, so for most of us, it's a bit of guess work. And then there are of course the different points of views of everyone reading the original work and figuring out for themselves why a character acts and behaves the way they do and what drives them or halts them. I'm pretty sure I will fuck up somewhere along the line in the story (I mean I am creating a bond between two people who don't really associate with one another in the manga), but I hope it will still be an enjoyable read. The Master was indeed a bit off in the first chapter, but his matchmaking behaviour was mostly a front for me to show another outlook at Natsu's and Lucy's relationship and feelings for one another and I thought he was the best person to judge it unbiased. I also thought it possible that the old man would find it an amusing task to help his kids along with realizing their feelings for one another. And he did buy Lucy some racy swimwear, so, that counts, right? :-) Once again thank you for the comment and I hope I will be able to produce something worth reading.

**PandaGirl:** Well, they aren't exactly at that stage yet, but we are getting closer with every chapter. And believe you me, Laxus will be a really really great older brother. :-) ... I hope. Thanks for the comment.

**general zargon:**Thanks for pointing those out. I will correct them soon. Whenever you find any mistakes, please tell me about them. Glad you liked the chapter, hope the same goes for this new one. Even though we are at a snails pace right now when it comes to story progress... sorry. Thank you for the review.

**Nom de plume - Pol:**I hope you will continue to like it from here on out. Thanks for the comment.

**Ryuus2:** Thanks, but english is actually my second language. French would be my third, and I'm REALLY bad at french... But still, thank you for praising my english. This made me smile. And you are right, though I really like the romance between Natsu and Lucy, this story focuses on the sibling bond between Laxus and Lucy. And there are some great scenes to come. I still don't wanna neglect Natsu though. But I'm sure I will find a way to do it fairly. Thank you very much for your kind words.

**Insight 52:**Oh, thank you. I just hope I will be able to meet your expectations of this story. Things are still in the beginning stages, so nothing much has happened yet, but it will pick up with the next few chapters. Hopefully. :-) Thanks for the comment.

* * *

fanfic recs

I haven't had much time to read myself during the last few weeks, but I have to give you at least one recommendation:

**Nightmares, by GeminiMab.**If you haven't read it yet, shame on you. Read it, read it, read it. There may be the occasional hiccup in the story, but it is very cute and exciting and sweet and fun and, oh just read it.

A little question on the side: Which one of the (main) male members of Fairy Tail do you think would be the most UNlikely to be Lucy's best friend?

My money is on Gajeel.


	5. Chapter 5

Just a word of warning. This chapter is pretty boring. But don't worry, we are getting closer to the part of the fic where the story pics up pace. So, please bear with it for now. :-)

Also, I could REALLY use a Beta-reader. Not only for the spell and grammar check, but also for brain storming. If you are interested, leave me a PM or Review.

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

The expensively dressed man stopped in his tracks, shooting the blond girl across from him a questioning and partly offended look. Though slightly ruffled in his composure, he non the less held on to his high class manners.

"I beg your pardon, young miss. I hadn't been informed that the wizard folk was of such little patience. As I was about to say, my name is Hubert Cornelius Layton. I am the master of this house."

Laxus stood still but alert, as Lucy shook her head.

"This mansion belongs to Mr Dalford and Mrs Victoria Layton. Where are they? Or their daughter, Celia?"

Lucy was highly suspicious of this man. She had been expecting many things, but having this stranger claim to be part of her childhood friends family was definitely not one of those. What if he was an imposter, what if he had hurt the Laytons? Her hand inched to the key ring on her hip. But the man just looked at her in surprise.

"You know my wife?"

Lucy froze in her movement.

"Your what?" _/His wife? His 'wife'? Does this mean Celia has… Celia is…/_

Her train of thought was interrupted when a new person entered the lounge.

"Hubert, darling. I just put Nanami to bed and Lance informed me that the wizards have arrived."

Shocked brown eyes followed the voice to land on a dark haired woman in her mid twenties. She was wearing a beautiful silver white gown that molded her figure perfectly.

Laxus was looking at the newly arrived woman as well and immediately noticed that, though the dress was obviously designed to show as little skin as possible, it was nothing like the clothes that Lucy had described to him earlier.

/Then again, Lucy said 'eligible women'. So maybe her married status allows this woman to show some more. It's still barely anything though./

But right now really wasn't the time to think about this. Not while Lucy stood right next to him, staring at the other woman in the room in open mouthed wonder.

He was starting to worry.

The alleged Mr. Layton had meanwhile reached his wife and took her hands in his.

"Ah, Celia. Perfect timing. It seems this girl has knowledge of your deceased parents as well as yourself, my dear. She asked for you by name."

The apparent Lady of the house seemed surprised by that and looked over to the two mages in the lounge with them. She took some steps closer, her forehead wrinkled in concentration as she scrutinized the blond girl, standing only a few feet away from her.

"You do look familiar. And you say you knew my parents? May I ask for your name please?"

But all Lucy could do was stare at the taller, older, more mature woman in front of her. This was Celia. She was sure, before her stood her childhood friend, but…She was so different. How could Celia have changed so much? It was only a little over three years that she had last seen her. Then her eyes widened in realization.

_/No, it wasn't three years, it was ten. How could I forget about Tenrou? I was 15 when I last spoke to her. Before I left home and traveled for about six months. Then I met Natsu in Hargeon and he brought me to Fairy Tail. One and a half years later brought us to Tenrou where we were frozen in time for seven years. Then the trouble with the Infinity clock, the Grand Magic Games, the dragons, … I may have only aged three years since I ran away, but for Celia it was ten. She should be 25 now, married…/_

Guessing what the problem might be and seeing that Lucy was having a hard time with this, Laxus decided to step in.

"My name is Laxus Dreyar and my partner is Lucy Heartfilia," – The young Mrs Layton gasped as she heard that name. – "As I understand it the two of you are childhood friends."

Celia looked at the blond girl before her with wide eyes.

"Lucy? Is that really you? But how can - We thought you were… You look so…"

Finally, Lucy spoke. "Young?"

Dumbfounded Celia just nodded. But before Lucy could answer, the almost forgotten Mr Layton stepped up beside his wife.

"Heartfilia, you say? The girl you have told me about, my dear? The daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia?"

Faced with the shocked and curious gazes of both Celia and her husband, Lucy let out a sigh and smiled awkwardly.

"It's a long story."

Hubert Cornelius Layton nodded understandingly and gestured to the couches behind them.

"Then mayhaps we should all get more comfortable.

* * *

It took a little over an hour for Lucy, with the occasional help of Laxus, to explain the odd circumstances behind her youth. The ever diligent butler Lance had supplied them all with tea and biscuits during that time. When the young blond finally came to an end, she looked across from her to her pale and wide eyed friend.

"Celia? You don't look too well. Are you alright?"

Their gazes locked.

"Am I alright? Evil mages, demons, dragons, being frozen in time! Oh good lord! All this time I thought you were furthering your studies oversea's and now I learn that you actually had to endure such peril. Oh you poor thing!"

While her husband laid a finely manicured hand on Celia's shoulder in an effort to calm her, Lucy blinked confused.

"You thought I was oversea's?"

Taking a small sip of her imported tea, Celia answered.

"Well, yes, of course. After what you told me in your last letter about wanting to follow in your mother's footsteps and being free of your father's control, I naturally assumed that you had considered Lord Brushto's generous offer to learn all about his craft at his court in Angona. By the time your father lost all of his possessions, I was sure you had found a strapping man of good status at the Lord's court and married him, therefore freeing yourself from your father's control. Had I known you were talking about following in your mother's 'magical' footsteps and running away to join a wizard guild, you can be assured that I would have tried my best to talk you out of such foolishness."

The cup that held some foreign blend of tea, that Laxus didn't care to remember the name of, made a very audible 'clang' as he nearly slammed it back down on it's little saucer. He fixed the noble woman before him with a cold stare.

"Considering you were the ones that hired us, I would be careful about calling our chosen profession 'foolishness'."

So far, Laxus hadn't liked what he saw. It wasn't like he had expected to see a tearful reunion topped off by a hug fest between the two childhood friends… Actually, scratch that. That was exactly what he had expected! Granted, the age thing might have been a bit of a shock for the young Mrs Layton, but so far the woman hadn't so much as smiled at Lucy. Aside from her shock and obvious distaste for his younger companion's chosen path, the woman didn't show much of a reaction. In fact, both of the Laytons seemed to express less emotions than a dead fish.

The way they talked aggravated him. Every word seemed to be carefully chosen to portray the exact amount of feeling that the individual situation required, while the almost monotone sounding voice and their bodily composure sent an underlining message that people like them couldn't be bothered with stuff like this.

This wasn't the only thing pissing Laxus off, however.

Even though they had only been here for a little over an hour, Lucy seemed to be adapting to the two nobles across from them more and more. Sometime during explaining about her time with Fairy Tail, her posture had straightened more. Her speech became more formal. Even the way she held the fine porcelain cup changed.

Obviously this place and their current company brought back Lucy's upbringing and, like a conditioned reflex, the former heiress fell right back into it.

Laxus was pretty sure that it was not a conscious choice by the stellar mage. He remembered what Lucy had said about the 'rules of nobility' when she had explained to him the reasons behind her preferred fashion style, and the thought that the mannerisms displayed by the Laytons forced the younger blond back into a role she had escaped from, even if temporarily, angered him more than he might have expected.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lucy shoot him a worried look. Apparently his rather hard reaction to the woman's words had slightly shaken his female partner out of her automated behaviour for the moment. Hoping to keep it that way, he looked right at their hosts.

"While on the matter of our employment, it would have been nice if you had informed us about the barrier around your property. I would believe it to be common courtesy to let in the people you requested."

He was still a little sore about that zap he had received earlier. Mr Layton however only looked at him – not directly in the eyes, he noted – like he had just asked something that should be completely obvious.

"Why, but of course we did not reveal the existence of our security system. After all, what other way do we have to verify your qualification? I believe we are entitled to get our money's worth. And since the two of you were able to bypass the barrier, it shouldn't be an issue, right?"

Mavis, how he wanted to punch this man.

It infuriated Laxus even more that the young Mr Layton had managed to say these words in a way that didn't make them sound condescending. But just as he was about to give the man a piece of his mind, he felt the small hand of the celestial spirit wizard on his arm.

Turning to her, he saw deep, brown eyes looking at him pleadingly. Right. This wasn't about him. It was about Lucy reconnecting with a friend from her past. No matter how snobbish she and her husband were.

So, although it was hard, Laxus took a calming breath and let it go, nodding to her in reassurance. The smile she sent him as a thank you was worth enduring these people for a little longer.

Lucy in turn looked back to Celia.

"Speaking of which, maybe it's time you told us about the mission you hired us for. It is getting late and Laxus and I still need to find a hotel in town."

There was almost something akin to a smile on Celia's face.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. We have already prepared two guest rooms for you."

But Lucy shook her head. "That's very thoughtful, but the barrier will be back up in a few hours. We wouldn't be able to get any rest with constantly needing to lift it."

_/And thank Mavis for that/ _Laxus thought. _/I really don't want to be here any longer than I have to./_

But Mr Layton's next words destroyed his hopes.

"That will actually not be a problem. We are going to have to take down the barrier anyway, for reasons you will soon come to understand. Lance is taking care of that as we speak. And as we are therefore without our usual measure of security, it would be best to have you available should anything happen. At least for this night and the next two days, until I have made other arrangements. In fact, why don't we discuss business over dinner. As the young miss Heartfilia has pointed out, it is rather late already. I will have one of the maids show you to your rooms. If you have brought any necessary items or gear with you and left it back at the station, you need only give the key to your compartment to her and she will see to it that you get your possessions as soon as possible. You will meanwhile find appropriate attire in your rooms, which you are welcome to change into before joining us for dinner."

Before the two Fairy Tail wizards could even think to protest, a middle aged woman in a maid uniform appeared in the entryway of the lounge, bowing down respectfully. They couldn't exactly refuse the offer to stay at the mansion for the duration of their mission, as it seemed that guard duty had now become part of it, but one look at Lucy's expression and Laxus knew what the comment about 'appropriate attire' was doing to her. He would be damned if he allowed her to feel like she had back then again.

"We are grateful for your generous offer to let us stay here, but I'm afraid we won't be able to wear the clothes you have supplied for us. If there should be an attack, we will need to move freely and for that we have to be in the clothes we are used to."

There, he could be formal and civil too.

"So, thanks, but no thanks."

Didn't mean he was going to be, though. The soft, relieved sigh from the younger blond made him grin in accomplishment. There was a second when Hubert Cornelius Layton almost seemed perturbed, but it was quickly brushed off his face with his well practiced business façade.

"Well, I'm sure you would know best. Still, if you want to refresh yourselves a little, please follow Lydia to the rooms. They both have a private bathroom attached. Dinner will be served in about thirty minutes. Someone will get and accompany you to the dining room then."

The two mages nodded and stood up from their seats, about to go to the maid waiting for them, when Lucy suddenly turned to Celia, who was standing besides her husband.

The pretty blond smiled.

"I'm really glad to see you again, Celia. I hope we will have some time to talk more during the mission."

Celia seemed at first surprised by the younger woman's words, but then the formerly almost stoic woman let out a small smile as well.

"I would like that, Lucy."

And after having restrained herself for so long already, Lucy let go of her hesitance and quickly stepped up to her childhood friend to give her a heart filled hug. So glad to finally be able to express her joy over seeing her again, Lucy didn't notice the fact that Celia didn't hug her back, nor did she see the woman's uncomfortable look.

Laxus, however, did. And it angered him.

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

As I stated before, this chapter was rather boring, but its primary purpose is to set a feel for the kind of people the 'noble' Laytons are and the beginning protective feelings that Laxus has for Lucy. I still hope you enjoyed it, and don't worry, we are definitely headed for more action. It's just a little slow going right now.

Thank you much for reading this chapter and please let me know what you think and expect to happen next.

* * *

Reviews:

**KanaeHitomi:** Jellal would be an interesting choice as well for Lucy's best friend, but I must admit that I wouldn't know how to write his character at all. Aside from his interaction with Erza, he seems to be a little... bland. Sadly no Natsu for this chapter, he would have certainly livened things up. Thank you very much for you comment and interest in the story.

**GoldenRoseTanya:** Thanks. Hope you liked this one as well.

**Lectori Salutem:** It's so great that you think I did well with the Laxus/Lucy interaction, because I remember rewriting the parts with their conversation again and again and again until I was satisfied. And of course, that little rhyme was frustrating as hell. But of course, the little pet name will not go to waste. I didn't spend three days to come up with a way to build it into the story only to not use it again. I just need to write out a situation for Laxus to use it again without it coming across forced or anything. But I have an idea for that, just hope I can pull it off. Right now Natsu is a bit of comical fodder to relieve some tension between the more serious parts, and I had much fun writing about his little ninja mission and subsequent confrontation with Gray, but I will do my best to not just have Natsu on the sidelines for comical relieve.

The story to your username is pretty cool, and, now I have learned something :-) Mine was rather unimaginative. Thank you very much for your review.

**general**** zargon:** I kinda feel like I have let you down with this chapter. It really isn't much, but I needed the dialogue between the Laytons and Laxus and Lucy to establish the atmosphere for future chapters. Also there wasn't much sibling-like stuff between Laxus and Lucy, if you don't count his efforts to shield her from falling back into old habits and fears. I still hope you enjoyed it so far and promise that the pace will pick up now. Thank you for your review.

Liani: I gotta admit that Bixlow creeps me out a little, with his tongue always hanging out. I don't know if I could write him right. Well, if not counting the most unlikely to be Lucy's best friend, who would you LIKE to see as having a close (non-romantic) relationship with her? Thanks for the comment and interest in the story.

**1fairytaillover:** Thank you for the comment and input.

**Ryuus2:** That's ok. :-) German would be my mother tongue, english is my second and french my third language, though, as I said, I'm REALLY bad at french. I always get the feeling that I have a stuffed nose when I try to say something in french...

And you are right, right now Natsu is used as comical relieve more than anything and won't make an appearance for at least one more chapter. Probably more. He will have his moments, but the story's focus are Laxus and Lucy and it will remain that way.

You guessed right, good old Hubert Cornelius married into the Layton family. Doesn't he have a most obnoxious name? Came up with it while I was drunk ;-)

I think the Master as a best friend would be really awkward. I wouldn't be able to think of a story line for that one. If not counting the most unlikely, who would you like to see as Lucy's best male friend (not in this story).

Thank you very much for the comment.

**JcL107:** Thank you very much for your kind words. You are right, Natsu is no where near as clingy with Lucy in the Manga/Anime, but then again, what else is fanfiction than for playing and exaggerating with facts a little? :-)

**SpinalCoil:** It may be the age difference, but I always picture Laxus more as the big brother type more than the best friend type. (as seen in this story ;-)

Though you are right, Gajeel and Lucy do have a rather playful relationship in the Manga, it doesn't really stand out. Their characters also seem to clash very much, I don't think they have anything in common (apart from Levy) Which is why I think a deep friendship between those two would be an interesting challenge to write about. (in a separate story, with a few modified things...hmm...)

Thanks for your comment, especially for pointing out why you like this story and what aspects of it you enjoyed. This really helps me with writing more. Even though this chapter wasn't much, I still hope you enjoyed it and will continue reading.

**PandaGirl:** I can relate, I would really like to have an older brother like Laxus (especially since I know what he will do later on in the fic. hehehehe) That fic you mentioned sounds interesting. Do you remember the title? I think I would like to read it. Thank yo very much for your continued support.

**Blood Reaper4444:** Oh no, don't do anything rash! I'm pretty sure this story isn't worth dying for (especially this pathetic excuse for a chapter...) Thank you for your review and interest in the story.

**NaLufanforever1:** Thank you for your review. Hope you liked the update.

**Inori. D:** Right you are, it was Celias husband. Natsu was cute, wasn't he? And that damn poem... I have a new found respect for authors of children's books. Oh well, the pet name will be worth the torture it took to come up with, I hope. I guess if I had to choose, I would pick Cana for Laxus. I kinda see them click some how. Though I do enjoy some LaLu romance as well (of course, this one is not an option for this fic) Thanks for the comment.

**kasey44:** I really hope you aren't too disappointed with the new chapter. It isn't much of anything, really just to add some detail for further developments. I will try to have the next chapter out sooner though. Thank you for the comment.

**Kaida-Nee Alberona:** I hope you like it still. Thanks for the comment.


	6. Chapter 6

Before you start with the chapter, there are some things I need to say.

First, many, many thanks to Insight for her tremendous help with the chapter. My gratitude extends to General Zargon as well, who has also been willing to lend a hand.

Second, the knowledge of the episode in which Team Natsu traveled back in time through the book of memories, to discover how Natsu got the scar on his neck, might be of advantage here. As I understood it when watching the episode, they learned that Natsu actually was responsible for his own injury, but Lucy never made the connection between the time she was saved from a Fairy Tail wizard and her own act of bravery. Before any of you get on my case that it should be obvious to Lucy that she saved herself back then, I don't think so. I think it actually does make sense that Lucy doesn't connect the dots here, as to her it were simply two separate occurences. I don't even think she would dwell much on the little girl in the carriage that she saved. And it's not like it will play any major or even minor role later on in this fanfiction. It is just a story element mentioned in this one chapter and will probably not be brought up again in the future, so please don't agonize over it.

Third and last, I don't know how the respected Mr Mashima plans to handle things or has thought of things regarding black/dark magic, but for this fic, not all black/dark magic connects to Zeref. In fact, Zeref has NOTHING to do with this fic.

* * *

Chapter 6

* * *

The maid led them through the seemingly endless halls and to the two guest rooms appointed to the two Fairy Tail wizards. After giving the key to their compartment to Lydia, the two mages stepped into their respective rooms.

Laxus took in the room with little interest, reflexively noting some things he was slowly starting to associate with a higher lifestyle. Like everything else in this mansion, it was luxuriously furnished and decorated. A dark wooden dresser that had fine artistic patterns carved into it with a matching side table and nightstand. A beautiful carpet was laid out right before the excessively large bed that was covered with more pillows than anyone could possibly need. The bed itself was fitted with dark silk sheets, not unlike the ones he himself had in his home, though he would bet his whole apartment that these ones were several times more expensive.

The walls were decorated with many paintings, mostly landscapes and inanimate objects, none of which appealed to the dragon slayer. But then again, he had never been one for art anyway.

His gaze came to a door in the wall, probably the bathroom Mr. Layton had talked about. Somehow he didn't feel like opening that door right now, only to be blinded with all the shimmer and glimmer that probably hid behind it. As his eyes continued drifting through the room, he noticed two glass doors leading to a balcony. The sun was just beginning to set and he decided that a little fresh air would do wonders for his aggravated temper_._

Stepping out he took a deep breath, and was surprised when a scent he was newly becoming familiar with entered his nostrils.

_/Lucy?/_

Turning to his left revealed the smaller figure of the pretty blonde on the balcony, a distance away from him. She was leaning on her crossed arms over the balcony's railing and looking out into the city of Lirca laid out before the mansion. Behind her he spotted two open glass doors leading into her room.

_/So apparently the balcony connects the two __rooms__. That's actually not so bad./_

It could certainly prove advantageous to have her in such close proximity. Not only would it be safer - since they still didn't know what exactly their mission entailed and he would feel better knowing that if worse came to worst, Lucy would be close enough for him to protect if need be. It would also provide a chance for them to discuss things concerning the mission - away from snobbishly prying ears, as well as other matters that might help him in his quest to gain the girl's trust.

The girl hadn't noticed his presence yet, so he stepped a little closer and cleared his throat straightened up immediately and turned to him, shoulders tense with surprise.

"Oh, Laxus. You startled me."

Still under the impression that the younger blond was afraid of him, Laxus interpreted her surprise as her feeling uneasy in his presence. So, in an effort to ease her into being in closer proximity to him, he stopped a few feet away from her and shrugged.

"You seemed pretty deep in thought there. You alright?"

It was a question he had wanted to ask her since they had left the lounge.

Lucy though_,_ who was extremely aware of the distance the older mage kept between them, misread it as Laxus forcing himself to be in her company, in spite of not liking her all that much. And so, hoping to prove to him that she wasn't such a bad companion to have around, she tried her best to reassure him that she would be able to handle this and not be a further burden on him. She smiled softly at him, returning to her formerly more relaxed posture, and looking over the city again.

"Yes, I'm okay. Thinking about it, I don't even know why I had such a problem with seeing Celia like this.I mean, I know we were frozen in time for seven years. The evidence of that was all around us when we first returned. Our friends had aged, we had lost the guild, and father..." She paused for a moment, but recovered quickly. "So many things had changed, but yet, a lot of things were the same. Fairy Tail was still the same, you know?"

He nodded, even though she didn't see it, still watching as the sun set over the horizon. She shrugged then, sighing softly.

"Of course Celia would have grown up from the teenager I knew back then. I just, I don't know. Somehow I expected her to be the same." She shook her head. "I don't even know how to explain it."

Really, for someone who prided herself on her intelligence, she didn't sound all that smart right now. She was never going to make Laxus believe that she was a capable mage if things continued like this. Lucy just hoped that jumble of words hadn't lowered the dragon slayer's opinion of her even more. To her surprise, Laxus stepped up beside her, hands on the railing as he, too, watched the setting sun.

"No, I get it. All things considered, I think you handled yourself pretty well."

And so far, he noted to himself with no small amount of pride, she hadn't reacted to his new-found nearness in a negative way.

Lucy smiled. "Thank you."

For a while, there was silence between the two mages and Laxus was glad that the awkwardness that usually surrounded them hadn't made an appearance yet. They just stood, side by side, watching as the sun kissed the ground in the distance.

"I'm sorry."

Startled out of the relaxed state the lightning mage had allowed himself to fall into, he looked down to the shorter girl beside him.

"About what?"

"That you have to be here with me... I can tell you don't like them very much..."

Laxus could already feel the damnable awkwardness return to gleefully wrap them up in it's godforsaken clutches. He wasn't about to let it though.

So, as nonchalantly as he could, he shrugged his broad shoulders in a sign of pure indifference.

"Believe me, me liking my employer is the exception to the rule. Especially when it comes to S-Class missions. Those rich people are almost always jackasses. And don't apologize for something that isn't your fault."

Just as he was about to question himself on whether or not it had been a particularly good idea to insult - however indirectly - her childhood friend, Lucy nodded and smiled apologetically.

"I guess the only people able to afford the high rewards that come with an S-Class mission would be those that are financially well off. Have you worked for a noble before?"

He shook his head. "No. Many rich jerks, but never a noble jerk."

There was silence once again between them. The dragon slayer was trying to figure out if it was a good silenceor a bad onewhen the soft voice of the stellar mage reached him once more.

"They don't mean to be 'jackasses', though, you know? It's just... the way things are. They say and do what they are supposed to. It's the way they were taught to behave, so they don't know how else to act."

Laxus looked down at her, but Lucy was pointedly staring at the sunset. He had an inkling as to what she was thinking about.

"Was it the same for you back then?"

She sighed, still staring ahead. "Pretty much. Although mother was a bit more lenient, she herself had been brought up the noble way. And after she died, father became very strict where my training was concerned. When you get corrected every time you do something different, eventually, you simply stop stepping out of line."

Laxus didn't like the melancholy air that was beginning to surround the younger wizard.

"But you did. Step out of line, I mean. In fact, you 'stepped out' of this kind of life completely."

Lucy smiled, a little nostalgic. "Yeah, but sometimes I wonder..."

"Wonder what?"

"If I would have done it at all if I hadn't been a celestial spirit mage like mother. And if I hadn't known about Fairy Tail. When I was little, not long after mother died, I snuck out to visit my father at one of the companies he was managing at that time. I coerced one of the public carriage drivers into taking me. We hadn't even made it out of town, when something spooked the horses, the driver fell off and they went wild. I was so afraid inside that carriage, I thought it was gonna crash any minute. But someone saved me. We talked a bit, though I didn't see her. Just the Fairy Tail stamp on her hand. That's actually the reason why I wanted mine in this place, you know?"

This information stumped Laxus a bit. He had been around the guild and a member of Fairy Tail since his early childhood, but he couldn't recall a female wizard with their mark on her hand. As far as he knew, Lucy was the only one who wore the stamp there.

"She was gone by the time our household staff caught up to me, so I wasn't able to ask her much, but I did learn about Fairy Tail that day. The servants told me what they knew about the guild as soon as I had described the stamp to them. They said it was a place where many powerful mages gathered, who worked together to help others. And even though they greatly stressed what ruffians these mages were, and that a lady of my status should never associate with such, all I could think about was how great it would be, to be in a place like Fairy Tail. I had always wanted to become a celestial spirit wizard anyway, but now I also wished to join a mage guild. Preferably Fairy Tail. Thinking about it now, I still don't know who saved me back then..."

While Lucy was caught up in the mystery of her savior's identity, Laxus was feeling rather rotten. So joining Fairy Tail had been her dream and part of her motivation to get the hell out of the home that had let her feel so much misery over the years. And he had nearly squashed that dream. Every day since he had been rightfully kicked out of Fairy Tail, he had regretted his actions. He had hurt his friends, had endangered the people of Magnolia, and foolishly lost his home and family. But while he nursed his own wounds and heavy guilt from that time, he had never truly considered the possible consequences his actions could have brought.

What if Natsu and Gajeel hadn't been able to force him into using Fairy Law, revealing his true emotions and ending his insanity? What if his gramps had given in to his demands and relinquished control over the guild to him? Lucy would have been one of the first to go. Because even though she had won that fight against Bixlow - much to his own surprise at the time - she had been fairly new to the guild back then and he had been just enough of a self-involved ass to view her inexperience as a weakness. Other than that, his rage over her role in the Phantom Lord incident had still been fresh in his mind.

What would she have done then? Would she have gone back to her father? Back to the life she had so desperately run away from? Would she have turned into a bland, beautifulaccessory on the arm of some rich jackasswhose only qualification to become her husband was the skill to walk with a stick up your ass and speak in a way that made others feel inadequate?

"Laxus?" The worried voice of the young woman beside him shook him out of his miserable and self-flagellating thoughts and he looked at her. The look on her face matched the tone of her voice.

"Are you alright? I knew you were angry. I'm really sorry for-" But before she could say anymore, she felt the pressure of his large hand on her head, as he - for the second time that day - ruffled her hair. Through his ministrations, he gazed at her with a stern look.

"What did I say about apologizing for things that aren't your fault?"

Lucy looked up through the strands of hair that were now - thanks to Laxus' ministrations - covering her eyes slightly.

"Not to do it? I'm sorr- no, I mean I'm not sorry! Sorry. Ah, I did it again! I will stop now, sorry. Oh my god! I'm so sorry, ARGH! No I'm not! Sor-"

Laxus watched amusedly as the flustered blond quickly slammed her hands over her mouth to effectively stop her apologizing spree. Damn but she was cute. He chuckled lightly, earning an embarrassed look from the girl. Maybe he should try to steer their conversation onto more serious territory. Lucy was getting awfully red again. Or, he thought with a slightly sadistic grin, he could milk it some more.

"You know, it's really too bad that they are taking down the barrier. I was looking forward to watching you recite that little poem again. Maybe you could have changed it into a dance number, add some more hopping moves like you did at the end."

The dragon slayer swore he had never seen that particular shade of red on anyone and he erupted in laughter. He should really stop teasing her, but -

"Maybe you can show it to the rest of the guild when we get back, Pixie."

"Laxus!"

- it was just too much fun.

* * *

It wasn't long until Lydia informed the two Fairly Tail mages that dinner was about to be served and brought them to the dining room. Though in Laxus opinion, it looked more like a freaking hall than a room. Not that it surprised him. Everything in this mansion seemed to be obnoxiously and unnecessarily huge. Including the Layton's attitude and ego.

He kept those thoughts to himself, however. He wanted to at least try to cut the two noble's some slack, after what Lucy had told him just minutes ago. They were seated at the far too long, lavishly decorated table, with an array of silverware laid out before them.

_/What the hell do we need five forks for?/_

He wondered the same about the additional three spoons and four knives. It wasn't like he had never been in one of the more upscale restaurants before, that served up to four courses, so he knew that different dishes required different utensils, but this much was ridiculous. The young woman on his right apparently didn't see a problem with the abundance of silverware. Lucy was smiling brightly in anticipation.

"Oh, I'm so excited! It's been such a long time since I've had the chance to eat something even close to gourmet level."

Mr. Layton, who sat next to the celestial wizard at the head of the table, and his wife, who was on his other side and directly across from Lucy, looked at her with an expression that was a little too close to patronizing for Laxus' taste.

"Do you not employ the services of a personal cook, Miss Heartfilia? Surely the lifestyle of a wizard has not bereft you completely of the necessary things in life."

There it was again. That tone of voice that was so amiable, even while speaking words that should be upsetting and insulting. It made Laxus want to drive one of the five forks before him through the table.

Before he could do anything though, Lucy answered the man.

"I'm afraid my definition of the term 'necessary' differs slightly from that of most people with a social status such as yours."

The older mage didn't even bother to hide his smirk. Evidently Lucy could dole out those 'non-insults' just as well as the esteemed Mr. Layton. He was very proud of the little pixie right then.

"Apart from that, I have tried to take care of myself ever since I left the Heartfilia mansion. Naturally, that includes preparing my own meals."

Celia looked as shocked as an emotionally challenged person might be able to.

"Lucy, does that mean you... cook? By yourself?"

It would have been funny, how the woman had such trouble to even say those words, if it didn't annoy Laxus this much. But Lucy just smiled at her childhood friend and nodded.

"It's fun. Although I have to admit, my first few tries were horrible. Just like when I first did my own laundry, or washed the dishes. Don't even get me started on the first time I had to buy groceries for everyone."

Curious, Laxus cut in. "Everyone?"

The girl turned to face him, happy to share this part of her past.

"Yup. About three days after I ran away, I came across this orphanage in town. I originally just wanted to ask for directions to the next city, as I was running low on money and was hoping to find work there. But the lady in charge of the orphanage offered me a job with them. The pay wasn't much, but it gave me a place to stay rent free with meals included. I stayed with them for about five months, and Mrs. Capebell kind of took me under her wing. She taught me how to cook simple meals, how to operate different kitchen appliances and generally everything else I needed to know to get through by myself."

Lucy suddenly giggled. "I believe my utter inexperience with even the most mundane things sometimes drove her up the walls, but she was really patient with me. And the kids were a lot of fun too. Sometimes they would help me with my chores. Such little sweethearts."

While Lucy was happily caught up in her memories, Laxus smiled at her, having now learned of another piece in the puzzle that was his temporary partner. He marveled a bit at the uniqueness presenting itself in the young woman.

Imagine what courage it took to walk away from the only life you knew, a life that had left you ill-prepared for anything outside it's pampered and lonely walls, to follow your dreams. To escape what you are supposed to be, in order to become what you want to be. Learning to stand on your own feet, yet be trusting enough to lean on others. Going from being one of the wealthiest girls in all of Fiore, to living and working in an orphanage and later on renting a 70.000 jewels a month apartment, all with a happy smile. Not receiving familial love for years, yet giving it at the drop of a hat without reserve or expectations.

This may be the first that the two of them had any one on one time, but Laxus had witnessed, on many occasions, the cheerful and loving way Lucy treated her comrade, strangers and at times even her enemies.

At this very moment, the lightning dragon slayer truly admired the inner strength of Lucy Heartfilia.

Celia apparently thought differently on the matter. "You had to do all these... things by yourself? Without any maids or servants? Oh you poor thing!"

Again, Mr. Layton extended a hand to lightly clasp that of his wife in a poor imitation of comfort. It was so far the only open display of affections Laxus had seen between the nobles. Damn it all to hell. Even Elfman and Ever were more open with their feelings than these two emotionally crippled spouses.

And why the fuck did that bitch have to trample all over what was so obviously a fond memory for Lucy, with her misplaced pity?

Laxus could already feel his anger build up again. Beside him, his younger companion quickly shook her head and waved her hands in front of her.

"Oh no, Celia, you misunderstand. I really enjoyed my time there. And I don't mind doing these things by myself. I mean, sure, if anyone ever offered to take care of all my housework I wouldn't say no, but it's not like it's an unbearable chore. And I might not be the best cook, but I have gotten better. I even made a soufflé a few weeks ago!" Then Lucy sighed. "Well, it kinda collapsed in on itself and it was a little burned at the edges, but Natsu still said it was good and ate it all..."

Laxus couldn't help smirking at the little blond whose voice had gotten quieter while her face grew redder as she fervently tried not to look at anyone and get over her embarrassment. Maybe he should join in on the bets circulating around the state of Natus's and Lucy's relationship. Between that little moron's reaction when Lucy informed him of her mission with Laxus and the blushing blonde's obvious pleasure of his praise for her cooking, it would only be a matter of time until those two got together.

Before anymore could be said on the matter, the doors on the side of the room opened and a handful of servants strode in, each with a covered dish in hand.

Mr. Layton smiled. "Ah, that would be dinner. Mr. Dreyar, Miss Heartfilia, what say you we enjoy the food and then talk about business after dessert?"

They nodded, even though it annoyed Laxus immensely that the reason for their being here was again delayed. Still, it wouldn't be long now and it may be good to eat in peace. He had a suspicion that the revelation of there job would piss him off somehow.

* * *

Dinner had been delicious. A little tense, but delicious non the less. Laxus did have to nudge Lucy two times during it when he noticed her hold on one of the forks turn into a very awkward looking position - like the Layton's were holding theirs. But other than that, it had gone without a hitch. Which made the dragon slayer all the more apprehensive about their mission. He just knew he was not going to like what was about to come out of Mr. Layton's mouth.

"So, maybe now would be an appropriate time to get down to business. As you may or may not be aware of, I am currently one of the most renown collectors of ancient texts in this fair country."

Lucy interrupted him quickly, her eyes wide in curious anticipation.

"You collect books? Do you have a certain genre you like the most? Who is your favorite author? What is the last book you read and what did you think about it?"

Her love for literature was clearly overriding her up to then polite demeanor. The man looked at her with a bemused expression.

"Oh, dear no, I don't read the books. I just own them. You were quite young when you left your home, so it is understandable that you wouldn't be able to grasp the concept of owning something purely for it's uniqueness. Not necessarily for it's contents, but for it's value. You see?"

Lucy deflated immediately and Laxus again felt the rising urge to punch the man.

"But back to the matter at hand. Very recently, I was able to acquire a book of great age and history at a private auction. Before I could take it with me, however, a delegate from the magic council claimed the book, stating it was 'full of dark magic and very dangerous'. Of course, I sent a formal objection to the council right away. I had already paid the merchant for the book and should therefore be given ownership. It took some work, but after a few discussions the council conceded that I could keep the book in my possession, provided a mage of their choosing performs a sealing ceremony on the book and I arrange for an S-Class mage to overlook the procedure and destroy the book, should anything go amiss. You, of course, aren't going to destroy the book, as then there wouldn't be any meaning to having it in my possession in the first place. So, if anything actually were to go wrong with the book sealing, your priority will naturally be to ensure our safety, but I would also like you to keep the book unimpaired. You can do that, right?"

Then he looked at the two Fairy Tail wizards expectantly.

While Lucy's face merely relayed her shocked disbelieve, Laxus' was the very definition of rage.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?!"

* * *

to be continued...

* * *

**Story recs:**

Online-Offline, by Tassie Taker. Modern world AU. Pairing: Natsu/Lucy. Very cute. and refreshing. it is complete.

**Reviews:**

**kasey44:** Thanks, yes, build up is important. I'm glad you still liked it though.

**Liani:** And it is growing ever more. Laxus is gonna be so cute... If only you knew what I do... hehehe. XD

**Yua-hime:** Hey, no sweat, I know myself how difficult it can get to review as much as one should. Seriously, I'm a bad reviewer. I'm trying to improve though. I'm glad you feel that way, I myself always thought that the time difference hardly comes into play in the manga/anime, with most of the fairy tail crew having been frozen for 7 years. Yeah, the other members of fairy tail aged a bit, they lost the guild hall and Lucy's father died, but other than that, it's like nothing happened. Looking at Lyon and others, you can't even tell that they are seven years older than the fairies. So it was important to me to highlight at least some aspect in which those seven years made an impact. The awkwardness between Lucy and Laxus isn't completely gone, but it has lessened and will continue to decrease, otherwise there would be no progress between the two. Though it is pretty funny and cute when they get all nervous about the other... hihihi. So, at least the question about the mission is now finally answered. Thank you very much for your review and I hope you liked this chapter as well.

**Ryuus2:** You are right, I'm really playing up the 'noble' side of things here a bit, but I want to make the contrast between those two worlds very obvious. And Laxus growing understanding and appreciation for Lucy's character hopefully comes across nicely along with it. Oh, I didn't ask about the best friend thing for this story. I already plan on another story where I want to highlight a 'best friend' relationship between Lucy and one of the guys. To make it more enjoyable and a bit of a challenge for me, I want someone whose personality usually clashes with Lucy. I'm still kinda set on Gajeel, but nothing is set in stone yet. (By the by, the story would be slightly AU, as I would write it so that Lucy and Gajeel - or whoever else - meet each other first before later on joining Fairy Tail.) Thanks very much for the review.

**Guest:** You are right, sometimes it is the obvious things that just don't come to us. And no, Celia doesn't plan on betraying Lucy at all. But the story is titled 'Good Intentions', and you know what people say about those, right? :-) Though this chapter here didn't offer any more action than the last, I still hope it wasn't as boring as number five. Thank you for your review.

**1fairytaillover:** And it's going to get better!

**KhaaldiaNyx:** Yes, yes they are. Though we aren't yet at the stage where Laxus feels overly brotherly to Lucy, but we are getting there and when that time comes... :-) hehehe. Thanks for the review.

**general zargon:** I kinda can't see Elfman as the best friend type... don't know why. Freed would be interesting, but other than his fanboy behaviour over Laxus, he seems a little ... boring to me. It wasn't exactly my intention to make the Layton's seem suspicious, but I guess with their noble ways and the nature of the mission, it is kinda unavoidable. I don't wanna spoil anything, but the Layton's are not the enemy here. Seriously in need of mental adjustment, but not evil. Thanks again for your help earlier. And thank you very much for the comment.

**YamiHinata:** Laxus is going to be even more frustrated with them. Poor guy. Thanks for the review.

**darian castillo:** Thank you for your kind words. Sorry that this chapter took so long, but I still hope you enjoyed it.

**PandaGirl:** Oh, please. Don't cause yourself any bodily harm! Though your kind words warm my heart! feel hugged!

**Emerralld:** Sorry, NaLu will take a while. But when it comes, it will be all kinds of sweet. Thanks for the comment.

**dave-in-exile:** Yeah, I guess it would have been disasterous had Natsu been in Lucy's company when meeting the Laytons. Though not calm in the least, Laxus is still more controlled than the other dragon slayers of the guild (except Wendy). Thank you very much for the review and I hope you will continue to enjoy the fic.

**Coolgal342:** Thank you so much for the compliment. The fact that a deeper, non-romantical relationship between Laxus and Lucy is often hinted at, but never really written about, was actually what prompted me to write this fic. I kinda hope that others will maybe feel inspired by it and write their own versions of a sibling like bond between them, as I would really like to read one. Again, thanks for your review.

**moocow4me:** I hope I will be able to portray the sibling relationship between Laxus and Lucy right. But I can promise you this, there are some very cute scenes in the making. Thanks for the comment.

**Lucedidio:** Ui, mal ein deutscher Leser dabei. :-) Darf ich annehmen das die Nötigkeit englische Fanfictions zu lesen bei dir ebenfalls aus der Tatsache entsprungen ist das es einfach viel zu wenig deutschsprachige ffs zu Fairy Tail gibt? Nun ja, und ich muss zugeben das ich inzwischen einfach so viele englische Sachen gelesen habe das ich die deutsche Sprache schon beinahe als flasch empfinde. Im Gegensatz zum englischen klingt alles immer so umständlich im deutschen... naja. Auf jeden Fall erst mal vielen Dank für den Kommentar. Hat mich sehr gefreut. Und ja, die tatsache das es zwar oft angedeutet wird das Laxus und Lucy einander in einer geschwisterlichen beziehung sehen, aber nie wirklich darüber geschrieben wird, hat mich dazu gebracht diese Story zu schreiben. Ich hoffe um ehrlich zu sein ein bisschen das es seine Kreise macht und andere sich vielleicht auch mal an diesem plot versuchen. Ich würds nämlich wirklich gerne lesen. :-) Hoffe dieses Kapitel fand ebenfalls deine Zustimmung, auch wenn noch immer nix großartiges passiert ist. Nochmals, danke für den Kommi.

**halliegirl:** Thanks very much. And yes, after gaining more and more of an insight to Lucy's past and circumstances, Laxus will be certain to develope a tighter bond with her. The respect with which he now regards her - as seen in this chapter a little - is only one of the starting points. I hope you liked this chapter as well and thank you very much for the review.

* * *

Have you guys noticed that it is now impossible to mark and copy the content of a fanfic here on ffdotnet? I get that this was something done to prevent plagiarism, really, I do, but it still annoys me! I have an ebook reader, one I specifically bought to transfere text documents onto it that I didn't find the time to finish reading online, ( you know, to later read in bed or on the bus or wherever) and now I don't have any way to do that! How am I supposed to save my favourite fics from now on? What will I do if one day an author decideds to delete his or her fanfictino (which I happened to like), or ffdotnet gets taken down? I will never be able to read a beloved fanfic again like this! God dammit all to hell!


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